Trump envoys arrive in Moscow ahead of planned Ukraine talks

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow, and reports suggest they may travel on to Kyiv on Sunday for the first time since President Donald Trump returned to office. The pair have visited Moscow repeatedly during this period, but never before Ukraine's capital. Ukrainian delegations, meanwhile, have taken part in talks held in the United States over the past 18 months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia had carried out "demonstrative" strikes overnight on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil, timed around his planned meeting with US representatives. He said the strikes appeared to be a direct response to discussions about the possibility of American officials flying into Ukraine and landing at Kyiv or Boryspil airport.

Ukraine's airspace has remained closed since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. On Friday, Zelensky said he would personally guarantee the safety of Russian airspace during the envoys' visit and urged Russia to offer the same guarantee for Ukraine. He also reported that an overnight Russian strike on a civilian building in the Dnipro region had killed four people and injured five others.

The Witkoff-Kushner trip to Moscow follows just over a week after a rare visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to the Russian capital, the details of which neither Washington nor the Kremlin have officially disclosed. Trump last week described that meeting as "semi-routine."

Talks so far inconclusive

Last year, the US, Ukraine and Russia each separately signalled that a deal to end the war might be drawing closer, following a series of US-brokered talks. European allies also held related discussions in Paris, but no breakthrough was reached. Major disagreements persist between the warring sides over territorial control and security guarantees for Ukraine. In recent months, both countries have escalated aerial attacks, with Ukraine citing a shortage of interceptor missiles while directing its own strikes at Russian economic infrastructure.