Kremlin says it expects US envoys Witkoff, Kushner, 'quite soon'

Prefer on Google by Martin Fornusek Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions, on April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images) U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may visit Moscow in the near future to continue dialogue with the Russian side, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on May 10. "Sooner or later, I think, quite soon, our regular colleagues Steve Witkoff and Kushner will come to Moscow, and we will continue our dialogue with them," Ushakov told Russian state news outlet Vesti. Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's top envoys for Russia - Ukraine peace talks, last visited Moscow on Jan. 22 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin , failing to achieve a breakthrough toward a final settlement. Despite repeated trips to Russia, the envoys have yet to visit Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the pair may visit Ukraine in late spring or early summer. Ushakov's comments come amid attempts to revive U.S.-led peace efforts in Ukraine, which have stalled as Kyiv and Moscow remain far apart on territorial issues. Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region, including areas still held by Ukrainian forces and that include a strategically vital fortress belt. Peace talks will not move forward until Ukraine pulls its forces from Donbas, Ushakov said, alleging that Kyiv "knows" it will have to give up on the region "sooner or later." Ukraine has firmly rejected ceding additional territory, pointing out Russia's failure to seize it despite years of costly offensives. Instead, the Ukrainian leadership has called for an unconditional ceasefire along the current front lines as a starting point for peace talks. The latest attempt to revive diplomacy led to the U.S. mediating a three-day ceasefire, in effect since May 9 — a day Russia celebrated victory in World War II with a scaled-down military parade — until May 11. Ukraine said Russia has already violated the truce with strikes against civilian areas and ongoing hostilities along the front on May 10.