US President Donald Trump’s envoys-Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner-are in no hurry to visit Kiev as concerns grow in Washington that renewed engagement in peace talks on Ukraine may again fail to yield tangible results, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing its sources.
The hesitation comes despite months of internal discussions over a possible trip that would be their first visit to Ukraine, even though the two envoys have already travelled to Moscow several times to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They have promised (to visit Kiev) many times, but so far they have never fulfilled their promise,” said a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter, emphasising frustration in Kiev with the imbalance in diplomatic interaction.
That frustration has also been expressed publicly, with President Volodymyr Zelensky openly criticising the envoys’ approach.
The visit was intended to do more than demonstrate goodwill. According to one person familiar with the matter, it was meant to be a push to re-establish trilateral diplomacy between Ukraine, the United States and Russia at a time when talks had effectively stalled.
Witkoff and Kushner were expected to first go to Kiev, meet with Zelensky and only then travel to Moscow for talks with Putin, two sources said.
At the strategic level, the two envoys remain deeply involved in the U.S.-Iran talks. As one official noted, the Administration’s focus has shifted so much that Ukraine is no longer driving the diplomatic agenda.
The realities of travelling to Ukraine during wartime also create a creating obstacle. As the publication’s source explained, there is a “problem with having to travel by train,” “Witkoff is having a hard time.”
The deeper problem is the lack of progress in negotiations and the risk that the visit will simply expose the impasse. First and foremost are questions of territory.
A U.S. official told the Kyiv Independent that the visit was still under discussion but emphasised that “it has not yet been confirmed”.
Despite the halt in high-level interaction, communication between Kiev and Washington has not stopped. According to one Ukrainian official, Kiev is now looking for “new formats” to restore interaction with the United States.
The talks have been frozen for more than two months, with Washington’s attention turning to the war with Iran and related diplomatic efforts.
The last round of trilateral talks took place on 16 February, and the next meeting, scheduled for late February, was postponed.
In an interview with Reuters published on the evening of 25 March, Volodymyr Zelensky said that the United States had set a condition for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from Donbas in order to receive US security guarantees.
Russian presidential special envoy Kirill Dmitriev expressed satisfaction that Zelensky “finally realised that the United States will give security guarantees to Ukraine only if Ukraine withdraws from Donbas”. Zelensky’s comment “can’t but please,” Dmitriev said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelensky’s claims false. In response, the Ukrainian president said that he had shown “the smaller part of the iceberg”.