US envoys to visit Russia and Ukraine with new peace plan

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to travel to Moscow and Kyiv carrying what Donald Trump called a proposal to end the war in Ukraine. The US president said the envoys would test whether peace talks could move forward after more than four years of war.

According to Axios, the two negotiators were expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before travelling to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Kremlin declined to comment. Trump did not say whether the plan would require Ukraine to give up territory, as he has previously suggested, but said, “We have an idea for peace.”

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I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it.

The effort comes as diplomacy has stalled and Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range missile and drone attacks. The attacks have pushed civilian casualties to levels not seen since the fighting began, the report said. Witkoff and Kushner have previously taken part in attempts to negotiate ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, and Witkoff has travelled repeatedly to Moscow.

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We have an idea for peace.

Hours before Trump's announcement, Zelenskyy said a Russian drone had struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv. He said the attack targeted the office of the agency's acting chief and marked the first strike on the headquarters since Russia's full-scale invasion.

Despite the attack, Zelenskyy proposed that both sides observe a ceasefire for the duration of the US envoys' trip. “There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire, without its own airstrikes, for the duration needed to conduct these talks,” he said in an evening address. Russia had not immediately commented on the proposal.

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There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire, without its own airstrikes, for the duration needed to conduct these talks.