US envoys headed to Russia and Ukraine to relaunch mediation

The return of Washington’s negotiators raises hope of progress towards a settlement to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

US-backed talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's teams were halted by the war on Iran [File: Reuters]

United States envoys are expected to arrive in Kyiv and Moscow over the weekend, in an apparent bid to revive negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine .

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late on Thursday that US negotiators were set for meetings in both capitals “in the coming days” and that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

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Russia’s state news agency TASS reported on Friday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be in Moscow on September 5 and 6.

President Donald Trump’s envoys, who have not previously visited Kyiv, were most recently in the Russian capital in January. However, Washington’s mediation efforts have all but halted since the US and Israel launched war on Iran in March.

Witkoff and Kushner are due in Moscow this weekend before heading to Kyiv, according to reports [File: Getty]

Zelenskyy was enthusiastic in announcing the return of US-backed talks, despite Washington having previously been accused of adopting Russian narratives and demands for ending the war, primarily that Kyiv should hand over territory.

The Ukrainian president said in a late-night address that his country’s negotiating team is in near-constant contact with the US side and preparing for talks.

“They confirmed they will have a meeting in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important that America remain actively engaged,” he said, adding that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

The TASS report said Witkoff and Kushner – respectively, Trump’s real estate partner and son-in-law – will first arrive in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm reports at a later news briefing.

However, with talks evidently taking place in the background, officials on both sides of the conflict appear to have new hope of progress towards a settlement.

Following Kushner and Witkoff’s last visit to Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described talks as constructive, but said that “reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said recently that negotiations were “frozen”.

However, speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East on Thursday, he said that a number of countries, including the US and China, are ready to support a peace deal, and hinted at possible progress.

“We are grateful to everyone attempting ⁠to contribute to a settlement,” he said, according to the Reuters news agency. “Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier told reporters in Kyiv that he saw a “new dynamic” ⁠coming in peace efforts, with more active political and diplomatic engagement.

However, in the eight months since Witkoff and Kushner were last in Moscow, Russia and Ukraine have ramped up air attacks deep inside the other’s territory and at sea, as well as the fighting along the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Russian attacks overnight killed at least three people in Ukraine, local officials said on Friday. Moscow’s forces have relentlessly struck civilian areas over the four and a half years since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A “massive” overnight Russian attack on the southern Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child, regional head Oleh Kiper said in a post on Telegram. The attacks damaged multiple residential buildings, including two multistorey blocks.

Strikes in Dnipro in the east killed two police officers, officials said, while a drone attack in Kyiv injured three people after hitting a residential building.

Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to concentrate strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure and other economic targets, as it seeks to drain Moscow’s funding for its war and encourage public anger over the conflict and its impact on the Russian population.

A large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, regional officials said, with fires reported at both locations.

华盛顿谈判代表的回归，使人们燃起了希望，认为有望达成一项结束莫斯科对乌克兰战争的解决方案。

美国斡旋的普京与泽连斯基团队之间的会谈因伊朗战争而中断。[图片：路透社]

预计美国特使将于本周末抵达基辅和莫斯科，此举显然是为了重启旨在结束俄罗斯对乌克兰战争的谈判。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基周四晚间表示，美国谈判代表将在“未来几天”在两国首都举行会晤，乌克兰已准备好进行实质性的高级别谈判。

列表 1/4 “僵局”：欧盟部长们未能打破在以色列和乌克兰问题上的僵局

列表 2/4：乌克兰战术转变，将战火引向俄罗斯太空计划

基辅枪战中涉及的乌克兰情报机构有 4 个，请列出其中 3 个：发生了什么以及为什么？

乌克兰10人受伤，基辅方面预计将在未来几天与美国特使举行会谈（名单4/4）

俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社周五报道称，史蒂夫·维特科夫和贾里德·库什纳将于9月5日和6日访问莫斯科。

此前从未访问过基辅的特朗普总统特使，最近一次到访俄罗斯首都是在今年1月。然而，自美国和以色列3月对伊朗发动战争以来，华盛顿的斡旋努力几乎完全停滞。

据报道，维特科夫和库什纳将于本周末抵达莫斯科，之后前往基辅。[图片：Getty]

尽管华盛顿此前被指责采纳俄罗斯的叙事和结束战争的要求（主要是基辅应该交出领土），但泽连斯基仍然热情地宣布恢复由美国支持的谈判。

乌克兰总统在深夜发表讲话称，乌克兰谈判团队与美方保持着近乎不间断的联系，并为会谈做准备。

“他们确认将在莫斯科和基辅分别举行一次会晤。我们预计基辅会晤将在未来几天举行。这非常重要。美国保持积极参与至关重要，”他说道，并补充说，乌克兰已准备好进行实质性的高级别谈判。

塔斯社报道称，特朗普的房地产合伙人维特科夫和女婿库什纳将首先抵达莫斯科。克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫在随后的新闻发布会上拒绝证实这一报道。

然而，由于双方显然正在进行幕后谈判，冲突双方的官员似乎对达成和解抱有新的希望。

在库什纳和维特科夫上次访问莫斯科之后，俄罗斯总统助理尤里·乌沙科夫称会谈具有建设性，但表示“如果不解决领土问题，就不能指望达成长期解决方案”。

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京最近曾表示，谈判已经“冻结”。

然而，他在周四于俄罗斯远东地区举行的一个经济论坛上表示，包括美国和中国在内的许多国家准备支持和平协议，并暗示可能会取得进展。

据路透社报道，他说：“我们感谢所有为达成和解做出贡献的人。还有希望吗？我认为有。”

乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈早些时候在基辅告诉记者，他看到和平努力中出现了“新的动力”，政治和外交参与将更加积极。

然而，自从维特科夫和库什纳上次访问莫斯科以来的八个月里，俄罗斯和乌克兰加大了对对方领土纵深和海上空袭的力度，以及在乌克兰东部前线的战斗。

乌克兰当地官员周五表示，俄罗斯夜间发动的袭击造成乌克兰至少三人死亡。自2022年2月全面入侵乌克兰以来，莫斯科军队在过去四年半的时间里持续袭击平民区。

敖德萨州南部地区领导人奥列格·基佩尔在Telegram上发帖称，俄罗斯昨夜对该地区发动“大规模”袭击，造成一人死亡，至少五人受伤，其中包括一名儿童。袭击还损毁了多栋居民楼，其中包括两栋多层建筑。

官员称，东部城市第聂伯罗发生的袭击造成两名警察死亡，而基辅发生的无人机袭击击中一栋居民楼后造成三人受伤。

与此同时，乌克兰继续集中力量打击俄罗斯的能源基础设施和其他经济目标，试图耗尽莫斯科的战争资金，并煽动公众对冲突及其对俄罗斯人民的影响的愤怒。

地区官员称，乌克兰无人机对黑海度假城市索契及其附近的西里乌斯区发动了大规模袭击，两地均有火灾报告。