US envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow ahead of Ukraine peace talks

MOSCOW - Two of President Donald Trump's top envoys arrived in Moscow on Saturday for talks meant to accelerate efforts to end the war in Ukraine, BBC News reported.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were due to meet Russian officials before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday. Trump told reporters on Friday that the pair were bringing a proposal to end the war. Axios reported the envoys would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on separate stops. Photos showed Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev greeting the Americans at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport after a U.S. government flight from Helsinki.

Witkoff and Kushner have visited Moscow several times since Trump returned to office. Sunday would mark their first trip to Kyiv, according to BBC. Prior U.S.-brokered rounds and European talks in Paris failed to produce a breakthrough. Core disputes over territory and security guarantees remain.

Zelensky said Saturday that Russia fired strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight ahead of the planned meeting. He called the strikes a reaction to preparations for a possible U.S. aircraft landing in Ukraine. Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Zelensky said he would guarantee the safety of Russian airspace during the envoys' visit and asked Moscow to do the same for Ukraine. He also said an overnight strike on a civilian building in the Dnipro region killed four people and injured five.

The Moscow stop comes just over a week after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a rare visit to the Russian capital. Trump described that meeting as semi-routine. There was no detailed public readout from Washington or the Kremlin on those talks.

For American households, any credible path toward a cease-fire matters for energy markets and for the long U.S. debate over aid and deterrence in Europe. This weekend's shuttle diplomacy is the administration's latest attempt to convert months of contacts into a deal both capitals will accept.