Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow Sept. 5, Zelensky in Kyiv Sept. 6, carrying a U.S. proposal to end the war

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's two lead negotiators, will meet Vladimir Putin (President, Russia) in Moscow on Saturday, Sept. 5, then fly to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelensky (President, Ukraine) on Sunday, Sept. 6. Trump said they are carrying a proposal to end the war. It is the first visit to the Ukrainian capital by either envoy since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Zelensky said Ukraine will hold off on airstrikes during the visit so the negotiators can travel safely. Russia made no matching promise. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, Sept. 4: "Unfortunately, there are no specific prerequisites yet. Work continues and communication is ongoing." Trump put the obstacle in personal terms: "It's a personality problem in Russia-Ukraine... You have President Zelensky and President Putin. They truly hate each other." (TS: Washington Examiner, BBC and Axios each report the Kyiv stop as the envoys' first since January 2025.)

What Ukraine says it will not sign, going into Sunday, Sept. 6:

• No legal recognition of Russian ownership of occupied land — Zelensky has hinted he could live with de facto control for now
• No cap on the size of Ukraine's armed forces, a limit Moscow has pushed for
• No outside veto on whether Ukraine joins NATO or any other alliance