Exclusive: Here's why Trump's envoys aren't going to Ukraine

Prefer on Google by Tim Zadorozhnyy U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Washington, DC, on Sept. 29, 2025. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are not rushing to visit Kyiv as concerns grow in Washington that renewed engagement in Ukraine peace talks may again produce no tangible results, the Kyiv Independent has learned. The hesitation comes despite months of internal discussions about a possible trip that would mark their first visit to Ukraine , even as both envoys have already traveled repeatedly to Moscow for meetings with Vladimir Putin. "They've promised (to visit Kyiv) many times, but so far they haven't followed through even once," a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter said, underscoring frustration in Kyiv over the imbalance in diplomatic engagement. That frustration has also surfaced in public. President Volodymyr Zelensky has openly criticized the envoys' approach, framing their repeated visits to Russia without a corresponding trip to Ukraine as a sign of disregard. "It's disrespectful to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful," he said . The visit was meant to do more than signal goodwill. According to one person familiar with the matter, it was intended as a trigger to restart trilateral diplomacy between Ukraine, Russia , and the U.S. at a time when talks had effectively stalled. Negotiations have been frozen for over two months, with Washington's attention shifting toward the war with Iran and related diplomatic efforts. The last round of trilateral talks took place on Feb. 16, and a follow-up meeting planned for late February was postponed shortly before U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran . Witkoff and Kushner were expected to travel to Kyiv first, meet Zelensky, and only then proceed to Moscow for talks with Putin , two sources said. Several factors now complicate the visit. On the strategic level, both envoys remain deeply involved in U.S.-Iran negotiations, which continue to dominate Washington's foreign policy agenda. As one official put it, the administration's focus has shifted so heavily that Ukraine is no longer driving the diplomatic agenda. At the same time, the realities of wartime travel present a more mundane but still an obstacle. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has closed its airspace, leaving rail as the only viable route into Kyiv. "They have their own issue with having to take the train," one person familiar with the discussions said. "It's difficult for Witkoff." Yet logistics alone do not explain the delay. The deeper issue lies in the lack of progress in talks — and the risk that the visit would simply expose that deadlock. At the center of the impasse remains the question of territory. Russia continues to demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Ukraine-controlled parts of Donbas as a precondition for any agreement. Kyiv has rejected that demand, arguing that freezing the current front line is the only realistic basis for a ceasefire. "The Russians are insisting that they want the entire Donbas; our position is: let's come up with a decent solution," one Ukrainian official said. "So for now, it's unclear why ( Trump's envoys) should come all this way just to hear the same thing again." That calculation appears to weigh heavily on Washington's side as well. Without new proposals, a visit risks becoming symbolic rather than substantive. "There is no substance yet," the same Ukrainian official said. A U.S. official told the Kyiv Independent that the visit remains under discussion but stressed that "it has not yet been confirmed." Despite the stalled high-level engagement, communication between Kyiv and Washington has not stopped. Officials on both sides continue to coordinate through multiple channels, even as Ukraine searches for ways to reset the format of cooperation. According to one Ukrainian official, Kyiv is now looking for "new formats" to re-energize engagement with the United States . "Right now, the situation in the U.S. isn't right for them, precisely because of the war in Iran," the same official added.