US envoys arrive in Moscow for talks on peace in Ukraine

Special US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. They were accompanied by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who greeted them upon their arrival. A motorcade, comprising Witkoff, Kushner, and Dmitriev, departed from Moscow’s governmental airport and proceeded towards Moscow. Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would meet with Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin later that day.

President Donald Trump had hinted on Friday that the US had a new proposal aimed at resolving the five-year conflict, but he did not provide further details. Russian envoy Dmitriev had maintained communication with US negotiators throughout the hiatus in their visits to Russia, participating in all prior meetings with Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Witkoff and Kushner would journey to Ukraine the following day, following their Moscow visit.

On Saturday, Zelenskiy alleged that Russia had targeted two Ukrainian airports prior to the US envoys’ arrival in Kyiv.

In a Kremlin statement via the Max messenger, Peskov disclosed that Putin had directed his military to refrain from striking Kyiv for three days beginning at midnight on Saturday, in relation to the US delegation's visit to the Ukrainian capital. Despite the ongoing conflict, a significant disparity persists between Russia and Ukraine regarding the path to peace. The war, the most destructive in Europe since World War Two, remains a contentious issue.

According to a Kremlin source, Putin remains determined to expand his territory, emphasizing that reaching an agreement on the front line requires the completion of securing the remaining parts of the Donetsk region. Western military analysts, however, consider this likelihood as highly improbable, considering the sluggish progress made by Moscow. Ukraine refuses to concede land that it has fiercely defended, deeming such terms akin to surrender.

The Kremlin has reiterated its stance from a speech delivered two years ago, asserting that Ukraine must cede all four regions claimed by Russia and halt its NATO membership aspirations. Since the last peace talks in February, both sides have escalated their aerial attacks deep within each other's territories, while the front lines have remained relatively unchanged.

Russia's gradual advances in its pursuit to capture Ukraine's Donbas region have been modest. Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have resulted in fuel shortages and rising prices for motorists, while the consumer economy has been affected by multiple drone attacks on large warehouses belonging primarily to Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer.

On Friday, a Russian drone attack targeted the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in Kyiv, marking the tenth consecutive day of intense assaults on the capital, prompting Zelenskiy to vow retaliation.