Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow with plan to end war ahead of visit to Kyiv
By Charlotte Reck and Tim Lister, CNN
(CNN) — 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.
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