US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks on peace in Ukraine - reuters.com

**U.S. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Land in Moscow to Restart Ukraine Peace Efforts**

Washington sent two senior officials, real‑estate developer‑turned‑diplomat Steve Witkoff and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, to Moscow on Tuesday in a bid to revive stalled negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Both men are part of a U.S. “special diplomatic team” that President Joe Biden assembled after earlier attempts at a cease‑fire, including the “peace summit” in Switzerland last month, failed to produce a concrete roadmap. While Witkoff has extensive experience in conflict‑resolution initiatives in the Middle East, Kushner’s recent work has focused on building back‑channel contacts with Russian officials, a role that has drawn both praise and criticism in Washington and abroad.

The envoys are expected to meet senior Kremlin officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, to discuss a “temporary truce” that could create a window for humanitarian aid and a possible de‑escalation of combat around Kyiv. In parallel, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian forces would refrain from striking the Ukrainian capital for three days, a gesture he said was intended to “facilitate the diplomatic process” after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent cease‑fire proposal. The Russian statement was reported by NDTV and echoed by state media, though analysts note that a three‑day pause would be difficult to enforce across the fluid front lines.

Reactions in Kyiv were cautious. Zelensky’s office thanked Moscow for the temporary pause but warned that any lasting settlement must address Russia’s withdrawal from occupied territories and guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty. In Washington, senior State Department officials described the talks as “exploratory” and emphasized that any agreement would require “robust verification mechanisms.” Observers from think tanks in Washington and London, cited by The Guardian and BBC, see the visit as a test of back‑channel diplomacy that could either open a path to a negotiated end or, if unsuccessful, reinforce the current stalemate.