Zelensky Confirms US Envoys’ Planned Diplomatic Visit to Kyiv and Moscow

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that preliminary dates have been set for a meeting with US presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in the upcoming days, as diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia remains severely strained. In a statement published on Thursday, Sept. 3, Zelensky said his negotiating team has remained in near-constant contact with US counterparts while preparing for the visit.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “We have confirmation from them: there will be a meeting in Moscow, as well as one in Kyiv,” Zelensky said, adding that “it is important that America continues to remain actively engaged.” The envoys’ visit has been on the horizon since late July, when the two reportedly agreed to travel to Kyiv for the first time following Zelensky’s meetings with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Shift towards Kyiv Both officials have played central roles in Trump’s efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war and have maintained extensive contact with Russian officials. However, discussions on Ukraine’s positions have remained outside the country. The meeting in Ukraine would mark the first time either envoy has visited the country since becoming Washington’s intermediaries. Zelensky had repeatedly argued that direct exposure to the consequences of Russia’s attacks was necessary to understand Kyiv’s military and security requirements. Other Topics of Interest 6 Wounded, Including a Child, in Russian Strikes on Kyiv In two separate districts of the capital, drone debris fell on the grounds of a residential complex, a roadway and near a private home. The visit is expected to center mainly on restarting trilateral talks involving Ukraine, the US and Russia. On Wednesday, Sept. 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled a shift in his series of peace proposal rejections, saying that there were still prospects for Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement. He also said that other countries – including the US – must support the process, while limiting their role until Russia and Ukraine “first reach an agreement with each other.” Zelensky had held a separate phone call with Kushner and Witkoff on Monday, Aug. 31, foreshadowing the meeting by calling the discussion “detailed and constructive.” “This trip would be very useful for working out decisions toward peace,” he said. Russia weighs options as CIA director visits Moscow Just a week prior to the confirmation of the envoys’ visit, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 26 that Russia – having concluded that peace negotiations have “reached a dead end” – decided to intensify its strikes on Kyiv and Ukraine nationwide. Bloomberg’s Kremlin-linked sources said that Putin was unlikely to end the war because of EU-imposed sanctions or Ukrainian attacks on critical oil, energy infrastructure and logistics networks, and that Russia saw very few alternatives to further escalation as it sought to achieve its military objectives. The sources also said Russian authorities are hoping that Kushner’s and Witkoff’s visit could bring new proposals – though expectations for a diplomatic breakthrough remained low. Bloomberg’s report coincided with CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unexpected visit to Moscow a day earlier, on Aug. 25. Several Ukrainian and US media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and Politico reported the visit, speculating that the meeting was intended to either warn Putin against attacking a NATO member or to deter him from continuing the war given Russia’s military and economic position. Some even speculated that the discussions centered on Iran, to whom Russia pledged alliance amid its war with the US. The precise agenda of Ratcliffe’s Moscow meetings, however, has still not been publicly disclosed. Around the same time, Trump said that “something may come out of” the visit, adding that his administration was working “very hard to end the war in Ukraine,” despite initially downplaying Ratcliffe’s visit as routine. Eventually, he rejected reports that Ratcliffe had traveled to warn Moscow against attacking a NATO country. Zelensky said that Ukraine received information from the US about the several meetings Ratcliffe held with Russian intelligence officials, both before and after they took place, underscoring renewed diplomatic relations with Washington, which – until 2025 – had remained Moscow-aligned, with Trump refusing to call Russia the aggressor and blaming Ukraine for starting the war. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Ratcliffe’s trip was a routine effort to preserve communication channels between US and Russian intelligence agencies. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.