US envoys headed to Russia and Ukraine to relaunch mediation

United States envoys are projected to arrive in Kyiv and Moscow over the weekend, in an apparent bid to revive negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine.

Key points

• Russia's state news agency TASS documented on Friday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be in Moscow on September 5 and 6.
• The TASS report remarked Witkoff and Kushner – respectively, Trump's real estate partner and son-in-law – will first arrive in Moscow.
• This person have not previously visited Kyiv, were most lately in the Russian capital in January.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier remarked to journalists in Kyiv that he saw a "new dynamic" ⁠coming in peace efforts, with more active political and diplomatic engagement.
• They confirmed they will have a session in Moscow and another one in Kyiv.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked late on Thursday that US negotiators were set for meetings in both capitals "in the coming days" and that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

President Donald Trump's envoys. This person have not previously visited Kyiv, were most lately in the Russian capital in January. Nevertheless, Washington's mediation efforts have all but halted since the US and Israel rolled out war on Iran in March.

Zelenskyy was enthusiastic in announcing the return of US-backed discussions, despite Washington having previously been accused of adopting Russian narratives and demands for ending the war, primarily that Kyiv should hand over territory.

In practice, the Ukrainian president remarked in a late-night address that his country's negotiating team is in near-constant contact with the US side and preparing for negotiations.

"They confirmed they will have a session in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place over the next few days. This is particularly notable. It is significant that America remain actively engaged, " he stated, adding that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

For context, the TASS report remarked Witkoff and Kushner – respectively, Trump's real estate partner and son-in-law – will first arrive in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm reports at a afterwards news briefing.

Nevertheless, with negotiations evidently taking place in the background, authorities on both sides of the conflict appear to have new hope of progress towards a settlement.

After Kushner and Witkoff's last visit to Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described negotiations as constructive, but noted that "reaching a long-term settlement can't be expected without solving the territorial issue". Russian President Vladimir Putin had remarked lately that negotiations were "frozen".

Nevertheless, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's Far East on Thursday, he stated that a number of countries, including the US and China, are ready to backing a peace accord, and hinted at feasible progress.

"We are grateful to everyone attempting ⁠to contribute to a settlement, " he remarked, according to the Reuters news agency. "Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is."

As well as the fighting along the front line in eastern Ukraine, nevertheless, in the eight months since Witkoff and Kushner were last in Moscow, Russia and Ukraine have ramped up air attacks deep inside the other's territory and at sea.

Russian attacks overnight killed at least three individuals in Ukraine, local office-holders noted on Friday. Moscow's forces have relentlessly struck civilian areas over the four and a half years since it introduced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

For context, a "massive" overnight Russian attack on the southern Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child, regional head Oleh Kiper remarked in a post on Telegram. The attacks damaged multiple residential buildings, including two multistorey blocks.

While a drone attack in Kyiv injured three individuals after hitting a residential building, strikes in Dnipro in the east killed two police officers, authorities stated.

As it seeks to drain Moscow's funding for its war and encourage public anger over the conflict and its impact on the Russian population, ukraine, meanwhile, continues to concentrate strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure and other economic targets.

Notably, a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, regional authorities stated, with fires documented at both locations.

For now, US envoys headed to Russia and Ukraine to relaunch mediation remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.