U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had planned to visit Moscow and Kyiv on Sept 5-6, but alternative plans are now being discussed after Witkoff "got scared" over the security situation, Kyiv Independent reports, citing a source familiar with the matter.
"The Russians don’t want them to come here to Kyiv, and Witkoff is always sensitive to Russian sentiment," the source told the outlet.
Reports of a possible change in plans emerged after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sept 3 that Witkoff and Kushner had confirmed the possibility of a visit to Ukraine, the source said.
Russia also continues to shell Kyiv. A person close to the Trump administration confirmed to Kyiv Independent that the visit had been planned, but said it "could still be canceled."
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it does not plan to negotiate security arrangements with Kyiv for the duration of a possible Witkoff-Kushner visit.
"No, there won’t be," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the possibility of such arrangements, according to Russian media.
He also said there are currently no preconditions for a peaceful settlement, though the Kremlin does not rule out such a possibility.
Zelenskyy said in early May that a Witkoff-Kushner visit to Kyiv was expected around the spring-summer turn, and on July 22 he held a call with Trump’s special envoys to discuss, among other things, ways to intensify diplomacy and bring peace closer. Earlier this month, he said the Ukrainian side was expecting their visit, noting they had previously stated their intention to come to Ukraine to see the situation on the ground.
It was reported on Aug 24 that Trump’s special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had postponed their trip to Ukraine, reportedly because of recent Russian shelling of the Ukrainian capital.
On Sept 3, Zelenskyy said Trump’s envoys were to hold meetings in Moscow and Kyiv, with preliminary dates for the meetings already set.
"We expect to see the American president’s representatives here in Kyiv. We have confirmation from them: there will be a meeting in Moscow and in Kyiv. We expect the meeting in the coming days," Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Thursday.
