Trump sends envoys to Moscow and Kyiv with new plan to “end war”

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow with a proposal that Donald Trump says could end the war, then prepared to travel to Kyiv for the first time since Trump returned to the White House. The visit represents Washington’s latest attempt to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

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a proposal to end the war

Russia and Ukraine both pledged to hold back from attacks on the other’s capital during the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had ordered a three-day pause in strikes on Kyiv from midnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said Ukraine would refrain from striking Moscow through Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Zelenskyy said the U.S. officials had already begun working with the Russian side. He also accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the visit with overnight strikes on Kyiv’s two airports and an attack on a civilian target in the Dnipro region that killed five people. “Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine,” he said.

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The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight tonight not to strike Kyiv for three days.

Travelling to Kyiv by plane would be highly unusual because Ukrainian airspace has been closed since 2022. Visiting leaders and officials have generally travelled by train. A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the envoys were expected in Kyiv on Sunday, while Axios reported that they would meet Putin in Moscow.

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From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow.

Trump said the envoys would assess whether peace was possible. He declined to say whether their plan included Ukraine ceding territory, as he has previously suggested. “We have an idea for peace,” he said. Peace efforts have stalled partly because of Washington’s war with Iran, while Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range attacks and civilian casualties have risen to levels not seen since the fighting began in February 2022.

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We have an idea for peace.