US Envoys Head to Russia and Ukraine to Revive Peace Negotiations

US-backed talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's teams were previously halted by the war on Iran. Now, United States envoys are expected to arrive in Kyiv and Moscow over the weekend in an apparent bid to revive negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated late on Thursday that US negotiators were set for meetings in both capitals “in the coming days” and that Ukraine remains ready for substantive, high-level negotiations. Russia’s state news agency TASS reported on Friday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be in Moscow on September 5 and 6. President Donald Trump’s envoys, who have not previously visited Kyiv, were most recently in the Russian capital in January. However, Washington’s mediation efforts had all but halted since the US and Israel launched war on Iran in March.

Despite Washington having previously been accused of adopting Russian narratives and demands for ending the war—primarily that Kyiv should hand over territory—President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was enthusiastic in announcing the return of US-backed talks. In a late-night address, he noted that his country’s negotiating team is in near-constant contact with the US side and preparing for discussions. “They confirmed they will have a meeting in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important that America remain actively engaged,” he said.

According to the TASS report, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—serving as President Donald Trump’s real estate partner and son-in-law respectively—will first arrive in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm the reports at a later news briefing. Nonetheless, with discussions evidently taking place in the background, officials on both sides of the conflict appear to have renewed hope of progress toward a settlement.

Following the previous visit to Moscow by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described the talks as constructive, though he noted that “reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue”. Russian President Vladimir Putin had recently mentioned that negotiations were “frozen”. However, speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East on Thursday, he indicated that several countries, including the US and China, are ready to support a peace deal, hinting at potential progress. “We are grateful to everyone attempting ⁠to contribute to a settlement,” he said, according to the Reuters news agency. “Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters in Kyiv that he observed a “new dynamic” ⁠emerging in peace efforts, accompanied by more active political and diplomatic engagement.

Despite these diplomatic moves, in the eight months since Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were last in Moscow, Russia and Ukraine have escalated air attacks deep inside each other’s territory and at sea, alongside intense fighting along the front line in eastern Ukraine. Russian overnight attacks resulted in at least three deaths in Ukraine on Friday. Moscow’s forces have relentlessly targeted civilian areas over the four and a half years since launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A massive overnight Russian attack on the southern Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child, according to regional head Oleh Kiper on Telegram. The strikes damaged multiple residential buildings, including two multistorey blocks. In the east, strikes in Dnipro killed two police officers, while a drone attack in Kyiv injured three people after striking a residential building.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to focus its strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure and other economic targets in an effort to drain Moscow’s funding for the war and foster public dissatisfaction regarding the conflict and its impact on the Russian population. Regional officials reported that a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, with fires breaking out at both locations.