Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow with plan to end war ahead of visit to Kyiv

Jacquelyn Martin/AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday, Russian state media reported, where they are expected to explore prospects for ending the war, now in its fifth year.

Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was at Vnukovo airport to meet them, according to state media.

After visiting the Russian capital Witkoff and Kushner are due to travel to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for the first time.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that two airports near Kyiv had been struck by Russian missiles, including the airport at Boryspil, which used to handle international flights.

“Evidently, these Russian strikes on airports are a reaction to discussions and preparations regarding the possibility of the American side using an aircraft to arrive in Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Since the war began, foreign leaders have traveled to Kyiv by rail from Poland. It’s unclear whether the reported Russian strikes will alter the US delegation’s plans.

The US mission comes amid near-constant Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital, including a direct hit on the Kyiv headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, on Friday.

Zelensky has said that an acute shortage of air defense interceptors has left Ukraine vulnerable to ballistic missile attacks.

Trump described Witkoff and Kushner as “great negotiators” at the White House on Friday, remarking that their dispatch is an effort to “see whether or not we can get something done.”

But Russian officials have indicated that Moscow is not in the mood to compromise.

“The US administration must take into account the realities on the ground in the matter of Ukrainian settlement, where the situation is changing not in Kyiv’s favor,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media TASS.

Ryabkov suggested that Ukraine was struggling on the battlefield, and that the United States must consider this.

A belt of important industrial towns in the eastern Donetsk region is under growing threat from Russian forces, which have inched forward in recent months.

Zelensky has welcomed the prospect of Witkoff and Kushner’s visit, planned for Sunday.

“Our goal is to have a visit and negotiations with the American side that are as constructive and substantive as possible. We need to look for realistic options on how to bring this war to an end,” Zelensky said on Friday.

CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Victoria Butenko, Jennifer Hansler, Kosta Gak and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting.

Jacquelyn Martin/AFP/Getty Images

据俄罗斯国家媒体报道，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和贾里德·库什纳于周六抵达莫斯科，预计他们将探讨结束这场已持续五年的战争的可能性。

据俄罗斯国家媒体报道，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的特别代表基里尔·德米特里耶夫在伏努科沃机场迎接了他们。

访问完俄罗斯首都后，维特科夫和库什纳将首次前往乌克兰首都基辅。

然而，乌克兰总统泽连斯基周六表示，基辅附近的两个机场遭到俄罗斯导弹袭击，其中包括鲍里斯波尔机场，该机场过去曾处理国际航班。

泽连斯基说：“显然，俄罗斯对机场的这些袭击是对美方可能使用飞机抵达乌克兰的讨论和准备的回应。”

自战争爆发以来，外国领导人一直从波兰乘火车前往基辅。目前尚不清楚据报道的俄罗斯空袭是否会影响美国代表团的行程安排。

美国此次任务正值俄罗斯对乌克兰首都基辅进行近乎持续不断的导弹袭击之际，其中包括周五对乌克兰国家安全局（SBU）基辅总部的一次直接袭击。

泽连斯基表示，防空拦截器严重短缺，使乌克兰容易受到弹道导弹袭击。

周五在白宫，特朗普称维特科夫和库什纳是“伟大的谈判者”，并表示派遣他们是为了“看看我们是否能做成些什么”。

但俄罗斯官员已表示，莫斯科没有妥协的意愿。

俄罗斯副外长谢尔盖·里亚布科夫告诉俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社：“美国政府必须考虑到乌克兰问题的实际情况，局势正在发生变化，对基辅不利。”

里亚布科夫认为乌克兰在战场上陷入困境，美国必须考虑到这一点。

顿涅茨克东部地区一系列重要的工业城镇正受到俄罗斯军队日益严重的威胁，近几个月来，俄罗斯军队步步推进。

泽连斯基对维特科夫和库什纳计划于周日访问表示欢迎。

泽连斯基周五表示：“我们的目标是与美方进行尽可能具有建设性和实质性的访问和谈判。我们需要寻找切实可行的方案来结束这场战争。”

CNN 的 Ivana Kottasová、Victoria Butenko、Jennifer Hansler、Kosta Gak 和 Darya Tarasova 提供了报道。