It will the be the first time the two have visited Kyiv. Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to visit both Moscow and Kyiv on September 5-6, Russia's state news agency Tass has reported. The agency cited its own sources. If confirmed, it will be the first time the two envoys will visit the Ukrainian capital despite making numerous trips to Moscow, where they have repeatedly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff ‘starting to get scared’ The Kyiv Independent reported on Friday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Witkoff has “started to get scared” about the planned visit to Kyiv, prompting discussions of alternative plans. “The Russians don't want [the US envoys] to come here, to Kyiv, and Witkoff is always attuned to Russian sentiment. They tell them over there that it's dangerous,” the source told the outlet. The report emerged a day after Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he expected to meet Trump's representatives in Kyiv in the coming days. Kyiv has been contending with a relentless wave of Russian drone attacks, with Thursday marking the eighth consecutive day of such strikes. Daytime attacks have become a new and horrifying norm. On Friday morning, Russia carried out another drone attack on the Kyiv region, damaging warehouses and sparking a fire, just two days before the envoys' planned visit. In a post on the X platform, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, appeared to confirm the Tass report but did not name the envoys. “Tentative dates have been set. We expect to see the US President's envoys here in Kyiv,” he wrote. “They confirmed they will have a meeting in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important that America remains actively engaged,” he added. A trip already postponed once The US had earlier asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow during CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia on August 25. It remains unclear whether the Trump administration would make a similar request while its envoys are in Kyiv. Talks on the envoys' arrival in Ukraine are ongoing, and the visit could take place as soon as this coming Sunday, September 6, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a source familiar with the latest arrangements. Witkoff and Kushner had originally been due to visit Ukraine for the first time earlier in August, but the trip was postponed — reportedly because Trump wanted the two diplomats to remain available amid the unresolved conflict with Iran.
