US President Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are not yet planning a visit to Kyiv due to the lack of progress in negotiations on Ukraine and Washington's shifting attention to the conflict with Iran. The Kyiv Independent reported this on May 1, citing sources.
According to the publication, the possibility of the trip had been discussed for several months. It was assumed that Witkoff and Kushner would first visit Kyiv and meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and then go to Moscow for negotiations with the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the visit was never agreed upon.
According to sources, the Trump administration fears that the resumption of negotiations will again fail to produce results. The negotiation process has been effectively frozen for more than two months, and US attention has shifted to the war with Iran and related diplomatic efforts.
An additional problem remains disagreement on the territorial issue. Moscow demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Kiev-controlled areas of Donbass, while Ukraine insists on a ceasefire along the current front line.
Kyiv is also unhappy that American representatives have visited Moscow several times, but have never come to Ukraine. Zelensky has previously publicly criticized this approach, saying that visits to Moscow without a trip to Kyiv look “disrespectful.”
Among the reasons for the delay, sources also cite difficulties with traveling to Ukraine during the war, since after the closure of the airspace it is only possible to get to Kyiv by train.
At the same time, an American official told the publication that the possibility of a visit is still being discussed, but there is no final decision yet.
