Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner to travel to Moscow and Kyiv this weekend

President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel this weekend to Moscow and Kyiv for talks on ending the war, U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: This will be the first visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Kyiv since President Trump returned to office.

State of play: Witkoff and Kushner will travel on Friday, hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

• The visit by Trump's envoys comes 10 days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with the heads of the Russian intelligence and security services in Moscow.
• Ratcliffe was trying to learn whether the Russian intelligence chiefs could persuade Putin to pursue diplomacy with the goal of ending the war.
• Witkoff and Kushner met with President Trump at the White House Thursday to discuss the trip.

Between the lines: Ukrainian and U.S. officials said they've been discussing the Kyiv trip for months.

• In recent days, they said, the trip was on and off several times for different reasons before they settled on this weekend.

Catch up quick: Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the Trump administration were paused in mid-February after the Iran war started.

• Witkoff and Kushner have held separate talks over the past few months with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but little progress has been made.
• Zelensky's chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, told local media last week that U.S.-mediated talks with Russia could resume in September.

Yes, but: Ukrainian officials are highly skeptical of Putin's intentions and say they have intelligence that suggests Putin is planning a major escalation of the war.

• Russia has also intensified missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
• Zelensky's deputy chief of staff, Pavlo Palisa, told reporters on Friday that Putin has ordered his military to prepare several operational scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Chernihiv identified as key areas.
• Putin has also rejected several proposals by the Trump administration to hold a trilateral summit with Trump and Zelensky to try to reach a diplomatic breakthrough.

What they're saying: Zelensky confirmed the meetings on X and said he expects the one in Kyiv to take place in the coming days. "This is very important," he wrote. "It is important that America remain actively engaged. We are ready to meet with them in Ukraine — properly and substantively."