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Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow
September 5, 2026
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, sent by Trump, are in Russia on Saturday to see Vladimir Putin, and Volodymyr Zelensky expects them in Ukraine the following day.
Russia's war in Ukraine has run since 2022, with Ukrainian airspace closed and visiting officials arriving mostly by train, and territory and security guarantees for Ukraine remain the central disagreements between the two sides.
Key facts
- In an update stamped 11:54 am on September 5, 2026, The Kyiv Independent reported that a Russian drone hit SBU headquarters in the middle of Kyiv and left no fewer than 12 people hurt.
- Two women were hurt in the attack in Boryspil, a town 29 kilometers (18 miles) to the east of the capital, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.
- Four people were killed and five more wounded when Russia struck Kamianske during the early hours of Sept. 5, regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, The Kyiv Independent reported.
- Her byline has appeared at United24 Media, Ukrainer and Wonderzine, and she has also written for PEN Ukraine, a non-governmental organization in the country, The Kyiv Independent reported.
- Of the drones sent over, 128 were disabled by Ukrainian air defences, the air force said, The Guardian reported.
BBC reports that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travel to Russia and then Ukraine across the weekend, at a point where the push to end the fighting is picking up speed. Trump told reporters, “They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war.” The Guardian reports Trump praising both men as negotiators and putting a fair chance on their getting a result, and reports that Kirill Dmitriev, Moscow's presidential envoy and a familiar channel for the Trump administration, greeted them at the airport on Saturday. CNN reports Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov linking the trip to groundwork for the American visit to Kyiv, and reports Peskov pointing back to Trump's own remark that no new ideas are on the table. Reuters ties the Moscow arrival to peace talks over Ukraine, and Axios places both men in Moscow and Kyiv across the same weekend. Zelensky will receive the envoys on Sunday, BBC reports, once their Saturday session with Vladimir Putin is done. BBC also reports that territory and security guarantees for Ukraine are still open questions between the two sides.
Alongside the diplomacy runs the fighting, and here the outlets line up. The Kyiv Independent reports an attack on Kamianske before dawn on Sept. 5 that left four people dead and five hurt, citing regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha, and reports a drone hitting the SBU headquarters in central Kyiv with at least 12 injured. CNN reports missiles aimed at Black Sea ports and at a factory in Dnipropetrovsk in central Ukraine. The Guardian reports Ukraine's air force disabling 128 drones. BBC reports Zelensky reading the airport strikes as an answer to preparations for the US side flying into Kyiv or Boryspil rather than arriving by rail.
On one point of substance the accounts part. One account carries a three day halt to strikes on the capital for the length of the visit; another has attacks on Kyiv running through Saturday without pause. Settled is the itinerary, the Saturday session with Putin, the Sunday meeting with Zelensky, and the strikes of the past two days. Unsettled is the pause.
Asked about the trips, Trump told reporters, “They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” BBC reported.
Still developing
The record does not close on whether strikes on Kyiv pause during the envoys' visit, where the accounts hold it differently.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- BBC — Trump's peace envoys to visit Moscow and Kyiv over weekend - BBC
- CNN — Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow with plan to end war ahead of visit to Kyiv
- The Kyiv Independent — US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks on ending Russia’s war - The Kyiv Independent
- The Guardian — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner land in Moscow aiming to revive Ukraine talks
- Axios — Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner to travel to Moscow and Kyiv this weekend