US President Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and Kyiv this weekend in an attempt to restart the negotiation process aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine. RBC-Ukraine reports this, citing American official sources that, in turn, are referenced by the outlet Axios. According to the sources, this will be the first visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Kyiv since Trump returned to the presidency, making the trip symbolically important for the entire architecture of the US administration's peace efforts.

Route and Schedule of the Visit

According to available information, the negotiators depart on September 4 and will hold talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Saturday. The following day, on Sunday, September 6, they will meet in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Thus, the route follows a "Moscow first, then Kyiv" pattern, while the overall date of the visit to the Ukrainian capital appears in publications as September 5–6, with the 5th referring to the Moscow leg and the 6th to the Kyiv leg.

Background and the Pause in Negotiations

The trip by Trump's envoys will take place roughly ten days after the visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, where he met with the heads of Russian intelligence and security services. Meanwhile, direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the Trump administration were suspended in mid-February — at the time when the conflict in Iran began. Since then, Witkoff and Kushner have held separate contacts with representatives of both sides, but, according to source assessments, the progress achieved remained minimal.

Preparations in the White House and Kyiv's Position

Before their departure, Witkoff and Kushner met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday, where they discussed the details of the upcoming trip. Ukrainian and American officials stated that the question of the visit to Kyiv had been discussed for several months and was repeatedly interrupted for various reasons, after which a date was agreed upon. Last week, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov, told local media that negotiations with Russia mediated by the US could resume in September, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly confirmed that meetings with Kushner and Witkoff in Kyiv would take place in the coming days.

Contradictory Data

The publications on the topic contain inconsistencies that are important to take into account. First, early reports (including those citing a Reuters source and Ukrainian media) described the trip as "in question," noting that discussions were still ongoing and that September 6 was named only a "possible" date; some outlets even wrote about the negotiators' reluctance to travel to Kyiv. At the same time, American official sources and Zelenskyy himself later confirmed the fact of the visit and its schedule. Second, the date of the Kyiv leg appears differently in various materials: in some as the range of September 5–6, in others strictly as Sunday, September 6. Both versions reflect the evolution of the information from the stage of coordination to confirmation, rather than a direct contradiction in the essence of the event.

Context and Prospects

The visit by Witkoff and Kushner becomes a key test for the Trump administration's peace initiative after a month-long pause caused by the Iranian conflict. For Kyiv, this is the first personal contact with the American special envoys since Trump's return to office, and for Moscow — a continuation of the line set by the CIA director's visit. The outcomes of the two meetings — in the Kremlin and in Kyiv — will show whether the parties can overcome the months-long stagnation and return the negotiation process to a working state.