US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner are set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Moscow, as Washington intensifies efforts to negotiate an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
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Trump has repeatedly vowed to halt the war in Ukraine, calling it a “bloodbath” and a “proxy war,” but his diplomatic initiatives — including a summit with Putin in Alaska in August — have yet to yield concrete progress.
Tensions rose last week after the leak of 28 draft US peace proposals, which alarmed officials in Kyiv and across Europe. The proposals were seen as leaning toward Moscow’s demands on NATO expansion, Russia’s occupation of roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, and limits on Ukraine’s military capacity.
European governments quickly countered with their own peace outline. Following talks in Geneva, the United States and Ukraine announced an “updated and refined peace framework,” which they say balances Ukrainian security concerns with diplomatic realities.
Putin has indicated that the exchanges so far do not amount to a draft agreement but said the documents could serve as “the basis for future agreements.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Witkoff’s meeting with Putin will take place on Tuesday afternoon but declined to discuss Russia’s negotiating red lines, warning against “megaphone diplomacy.”
A White House official confirmed that Witkoff will be accompanied by Kushner in Moscow.
Despite Putin’s repeated assertions that he is open to negotiations, he has warned that if Ukraine rejects a settlement, Russian forces will continue advancing. Russian troops currently hold more than 19% of Ukrainian territory — approximately 115,600 square kilometers — and have made their fastest gains since 2022, according to pro-Ukrainian mapping data.
On Monday, Russian commanders informed Putin that their forces had captured the frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk.
US estimates suggest more than 1.2 million soldiers have been killed or wounded since the full-scale invasion began. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow publicly reports its casualties.
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Since the US draft proposals surfaced, European governments have urgently moved to shore up Ukraine’s position, fearing any concessions could pave the way for Russian reintegration into global markets — including potential US investment in Russian oil, gas, and rare earth minerals — and even restore Moscow to a seat at a revived G8.
Russia’s core demands include:
a binding pledge that Ukraine will never join NATO
limits on Ukraine’s armed forces
full Russian control over the Donbas region
recognition of Russian territorial control in Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson
protections for Russian-speaking and Russian Orthodox communities in Ukraine
Kyiv has rejected these conditions, calling them tantamount to capitulation and warning they would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future Russian aggression. Washington has floated the possibility of a 10-year security guarantee for Ukraine as part of broader negotiations.
Witkoff, Kushner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Ukrainian National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov on Sunday at Shell Bay, Witkoff’s private club in Miami, for preliminary talks.
“We share the view that the war must be brought to a fair end,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X after meeting European leaders in Paris.
The war began in February 2022 when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conflict, however, has roots dating to 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea following Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and Moscow-backed separatists took up arms in eastern Ukraine.
