Trump's envoys meet with Putin in Moscow before a visit to Kiev
Published 5 September 2026, 14:50 GMT
Last updated 46 minutes ago
Reading time: 5 minutes
US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as part of a diplomatic tour that includes Kiev and aims to push towards ending the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday, Putin described contacts between Moscow and Washington as “always fruitful,” expressing his country’s satisfaction with cooperation with Witkov and Kushner.
Witkov said that Trump sent his greetings to Putin and thanked him for stopping the strikes during the American delegation’s visit, while the Russian president stressed that his country would do its utmost to ensure the safety of the envoys.
Russia and Ukraine had announced the suspension of strikes on Moscow and Kiev for three days, coinciding with the visit of American envoys to the two capitals, in the latest effort led by Washington to end the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the official TASS agency that the decision to suspend the strikes came within the framework of "preparing for the contacts that the Americans will conduct in Kiev."
Witkov and Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday, before moving to Kiev on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump told reporters that the two envoys carried a “proposal to end the war,” without revealing its details.
Pictures broadcast by Russian media showed Witkov and Kushner arriving at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, where they were received by Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
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On the other hand, Zelensky announced, on Saturday, Ukraine's readiness to refrain from targeting Moscow until the end of Monday, on the condition that Russia commits to the same towards Kiev.
He said: "From now until the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from directing strikes against Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same towards Kiev."
He added that he spoke to the American envoys who "have already begun working with the Russian side," stressing Kiev's readiness to hold "serious talks" upon the American delegation's arrival in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday.
Wytkoff and Kushner have previously visited Moscow several times since Trump's return to the White House, but their upcoming visit to Kiev will be their first.
During the past eighteen months, Ukrainian delegations participated in negotiating rounds hosted by the United States, but American efforts have not yet succeeded in reaching an agreement between Moscow and Kiev.
Strikes precede Putin's decision
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The Russian President's decision for a short truce comes in the midst of tension over a ceasefire proposed by Ukraine along the front line, coinciding with the tour of American envoys.
Peskov confirmed that Moscow had received notification of the initiative, saying that "this information had already been provided by the Ukrainian side." But Kiev accused Russian forces of not adhering to the ceasefire, and indicated that their attacks would continue during the night.
On Saturday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the implementation of missile and drone strikes on targets in several Ukrainian regions, including the Kiev region.
The ministry said that its forces launched a "mass strike" on Friday night, using high-precision ground weapons and long-range attack drones.
She added that the attacks targeted metal factories in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which she said supply facilities belonging to the Ukrainian military industries, in addition to logistics centers and power stations in the city of Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions.
In a separate statement, the ministry said that Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over the Moscow region, Krasnodar Territory and other regions.
On the other hand, Zelensky said that Russian forces launched strikes, which he described as “demonstrative,” on Kiev and Boryspil airports, prior to the American delegation’s visit.
The Ukrainian president considered that the attacks came in response to discussions and preparations related to the possibility of envoys traveling to Ukraine by air and landing at one of the two airports.
Zelensky had pledged to ensure the safety of Russian airspace during the presence of Witkov and Kushner in Moscow, calling on Russia to provide a similar guarantee during their visit to Kiev.
It is not yet clear how the American envoys will travel from Moscow to Kiev, knowing that Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Russia launched its comprehensive invasion in February 2022.
Moscow lowers expectations
Despite the new American move, the envoys' arrival was preceded by statements by Russian officials that reduced the chances of rapid progress, in light of continuing disagreements regarding the foundations of any possible settlement.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the success of the mission depends on the US administration's willingness to work to reach what he described as a "real solution" that takes into account "the facts on the ground."
He added that the situation on the ground is constantly changing, considering that these changes are not in Kiev's interest.
Ryabkov also criticized what he described as changes in the American position since the summit that brought together Putin and Trump in Alaska in August 2025.
He said that questions still remain regarding the extent of Washington's willingness to adhere to the framework discussed during the summit, and not be influenced by the parties opposed to the settlement.
For his part, the special envoy in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rodion Miroshnik, accused Zelensky and his European allies of trying to obstruct the dialogue between Moscow and Washington. He said that Russian-American communications in themselves represent an "annoying factor" for them.
The issues of territory and security guarantees demanded by Kiev remain at the heart of the differences between the two sides, at a time when Russia and Ukraine have intensified their air attacks in recent months.
