"Welcome to Moscow, peacemakers": Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Russia

An American delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will hold peace talks in two capitals — Moscow and Kyiv — this weekend, US broadcaster CNN reports.

This will be Witkoff's first trip to Kyiv — until now he has focused mainly on negotiations with the Kremlin. It was his meetings with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev last autumn that gave rise to the controversial peace plan, which in its original form essentially required Ukraine to accept Moscow's demands.

After the American delegation landed, Dmitriev posted photos from Moscow's airport on social network X, captioning them: "Welcome to Moscow, peacemakers."

Concerns over the Kyiv trip

Ukrainian media reported even before the weekend that Witkoff was reluctant to travel to Kyiv, reportedly after Kremlin officials warned him of possible danger. It has also been reported that Witkoff is insisting on flying into Ukraine, considering the long train journey inconvenient. However, Ukrainian airspace has been closed since the start of the Russian invasion.

Airport strikes ahead of the visit

Overnight into Saturday, ahead of the American negotiators' arrival, Russian forces struck airports in Kyiv and Boryspil — the very locations where the American delegation could theoretically have landed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strikes as a demonstrative response to preparations for hosting the negotiators. "Russian-Iranian Shaheds as an answer to American diplomacy," he said, commenting on the attacks.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz