Trump’s Envoys Arrive In Moscow As Russian Strikes Kill Five – President Donald Trump appears to be attempting new negotiations with Moscow, sending two envoys to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin while Russian forces continue their extensive attacks in Ukraine, killing at least five people overnight.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s presidential envoy and one of the Kremlin’s main intermediaries with the Trump administration, met the two. A motorcade carrying the three men headed to Moscow ahead of talks with Putin at the Kremlin.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025 (DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025 (DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
The visit is the latest and most visible attempt by Washington to revive negotiations that could potentially bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
It may also see Washington pressure Russia to exert some influence over Iran to resolve the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and, should the discussions help ease tensions over Ukraine, prevent continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure that are sending global energy prices skyrocketing.
Trump Says He Has A New Proposal
President Donald Trump did not keep the mission secret, announcing the trip on Friday and saying that Witkoff and Kushner were carrying what he described as a concrete proposal for ending the war in Ukraine.
“We have an idea for peace,” Trump told reporters on Friday from the White House. “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,” he also said.
The news was then confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on X, in which he also claimed to have received details about the visit from the U.S. president’s team. The statement did not specify whether Zelenskyy had been informed of the details of Trump’s proposed plan or only of the visit.
“Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday. We are preparing for the visit,” Zelenskyy said.
The Plan
Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel from Moscow to Kyiv on Sunday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It would be their first visit to Ukraine since Trump returned to office. Russian officials reportedly attempted to discourage the men from visiting Kyiv after their discussions in Moscow, according to a source cited by Reuters.
While speaking to reporters, the U.S. president also said on Friday that one of the primary obstacles to an agreement is the personal hostility between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy, arguing that the two “truly hate each other” and that their personal relationship was interfering with the negotiations.
Five Killed As Trump Attempts Diplomacy
The new push to end the Ukraine war through diplomacy came as Russian forces struck an industrial facility in Kamianske, in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, overnight.
Reports put the death toll caused by the strike at five. Regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha initially reported four people killed and five wounded, including a 30-year-old woman being treated in intensive care. Later reports, however, said that five were killed and five injured.
Other Russian attacks injured civilians elsewhere. Three people, including a 17-year-old boy, were injured in the Odesa region, while another 17-year-old was wounded when Russian drones struck a shopping center in Mykolaiv. Two women were hospitalized following a strike on a nine-story residential building in Boryspil in the Kyiv region.
Zelenskyy Accuses Russia of Sending a Message
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately striking airports in Kyiv and Boryspil in response to preparations for the American delegation’s arrival. In a statement shared on X, Zelenskyy said discussions had included the possibility of Witkoff and Kushner flying directly to Ukraine and landing at one of the targeted airports.
“There were also demonstrative Russian strikes on our airports overnight – in Kyiv and Boryspil. Deliberate, for the first time in a while. Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport.
Russian-Iranian “shaheds” in response to American diplomacy. We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky. Of course, there are and will be no threats to diplomacy from our side,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Hours later, Moscow announced a temporary pause in some of the fighting, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Putin had ordered Russian forces to suspend strikes on Kyiv for 72 hours while the American envoys conduct their visit.
Ukraine also agreed to halt aerial attacks during the visit.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
