"Witkoff gets scared": the first trip by Trump's envoys to Kyiv is in question, discussions are ongoing - reports

U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner planned to visit moscow and Kyiv on September 5–6, but Witkoff "started to get scared." This prompted discussions of alternative plans. Kyiv Independent reported this on September 4, citing a person familiar with the matter, reports UNN.

Details

"The Russians do not want them to come here, to Kyiv, and Witkoff is always sensitive to Russian sentiments," the source said.

"They are being told there that it is dangerous," the source added.

Meanwhile, a Reuters source familiar with the matter said that "discussions about the U.S. negotiators' trip to Ukraine are ongoing, and the teams have discussed September 6 as a possible date."

Context

Back in July, it was reported that U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner agreed to visit Kyiv for the first time as part of peace efforts to end the war.

At the end of August, it was reported that Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Ukraine, amid intensified Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, had been postponed but not canceled.

On September 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that a visit by U.S. President's special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv could take place in the coming days, but that they would first visit moscow.

On September 3, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced "new momentum" in peace efforts to end russia's war against Ukraine, with a return to an active political and diplomatic phase, but noted that achieving this without the involvement of the American side was unrealistic. 

On September 4, a Russian media source reported that U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit russia and Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6.