Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner plan to visit Moscow and Kyiv, in their first trip to Ukraine

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/File

US President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are planning to visit Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days to press for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict , a US official told CNN Friday.

The visit to the Ukrainian capital would mark the envoys’ first trip to the country that has been at war for years and under a steady barrage of Russian attacks in recent weeks. They have visited Moscow in the past.

Citing unnamed sources, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported on Friday that the visits would happen on September 5 and 6.

There had been indications that a visit would happen soon. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his nightly address on Thursday that the US team would be in Ukraine “in the coming days.”

Alina Smutko/Reuters

Children go underground as Ukraine starts new school year under constant Russian fire

“We have received confirmation from them: there will be meetings in Moscow and in Kyiv. We expect the meetings to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important for the US to remain actively involved,” he said.

Zelensky previously said he spoke to Witkoff and Kushner on Monday, and that they were “locking in the dates for their visit to Ukraine.”

But while Zelensky hailed the upcoming meeting as an important development, a diplomatic solution that would bring the war to a quick end remains unlikely.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he is not willing to give up any of the maximalist demands he has made of Ukraine. He has called for Kyiv to cede control of large swaths of its territory, give up its ambition to join NATO and dramatically reduce the size of its military – conditions Kyiv has rejected.

Moscow has also stepped up its attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent days, terrorising millions of civilians with waves of jet-powered drones that are nearly impossible for Ukraine to intercept.

Kyiv has been under near continuous aerial attack for eight days, with strikes hitting multiple buildings inside the city center as well as warehouses and factories – including one that is producing Coca-Cola – in the suburbs.

At least 53 people have been killed and 134 injured in Kyiv city and the wider Kyiv region since the start of these non-stop attacks on August 27.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has intensified its own long-range attacks against targets deep inside the Russian territory, striking oil storage and refining facilities as well as commercial warehouses.

Zelensky warned earlier this week that Russia’s airspace “will effectively be closing” due to the presence of Ukrainian drones. However, he made it clear that if foreign diplomats were to travel to Moscow, Ukraine would make sure the skies were safe.

Kevin Lamarque/路透社/档案照片

一位美国官员周五告诉CNN，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和贾里德·库什纳计划在未来几天访问莫斯科和基辅，以推动通过外交途径解决俄乌冲突。

此次访问乌克兰首都将是这些特使首次访问这个多年来饱受战火蹂躏、近几周来又持续遭受俄罗斯猛烈攻击的国家。他们此前曾访问过莫斯科。

俄罗斯官方通讯社塔斯社周五援引未具名消息人士的话报道称，此次访问将于9月5日和6日进行。

此前已有迹象表明此次访问即将发生。乌克兰总统泽连斯基在周四晚间的例行讲话中表示，美国代表团将在“未来几天”抵达乌克兰。

阿丽娜·斯穆特科/路透社

在俄罗斯持续炮火下，乌克兰新学年开始，孩子们被迫转入地下。

“我们已收到他们的确认：将在莫斯科和基辅举行会谈。我们预计会谈将在未来几天举行。这非常重要。美国保持积极参与至关重要，”他说。

泽连斯基此前表示，他周一与维特科夫和库什纳通了电话，他们正在“确定访问乌克兰的日期”。

尽管泽连斯基称赞即将举行的会晤是一项重要进展，但达成一项能够迅速结束战争的外交解决方案仍然不太可能。

俄罗斯总统普京已明确表示，他不会放弃对乌克兰提出的任何苛刻要求。他要求基辅放弃对大片领土的控制权，放弃加入北约的计划，并大幅削减军力——这些条件均遭到基辅的拒绝。

近几天，莫斯科也加大了对乌克兰城市的袭击力度，用一波又一波的喷气式无人机恐吓数百万平民，而乌克兰几乎不可能拦截这些无人机。

基辅已经连续八天遭受空袭，市中心的多座建筑物以及郊区的仓库和工厂（包括一家生产可口可乐的工厂）都遭到袭击。

自 8 月 27 日这些持续不断的袭击开始以来，基辅市及周边地区至少有 53 人死亡，134 人受伤。

与此同时，乌克兰加大了对俄罗斯境内纵深目标的远程攻击力度，袭击了石油储存和炼油设施以及商业仓库。

泽连斯基本周早些时候警告称，由于乌克兰无人机的存在，俄罗斯领空“实际上将关闭”。但他明确表示，如果外国外交官前往莫斯科，乌克兰将确保领空安全。