U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner were set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday for a new round of discussions aimed at finding a path to end the war in Ukraine — Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
A motorcade, reportedly transporting officials including U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, departs Vnukovo International Airport before a scheduled meeting with a Russian delegation in Moscow, Russia, December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova
The high-level trip comes amid intense diplomatic manoeuvring after a leaked set of 28 U.S. draft peace proposals alarmed Ukrainian and European officials, who said the document appeared to concede to several of Moscow’s core demands, including limits on Ukraine’s military, NATO restrictions and acceptance of Russian control over occupied territories.
Washington revises peace plan after European pushback
Following criticism, U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators said after talks in Geneva that they had developed an “updated and refined peace framework,” though no details were released. European governments have circulated their own counter-proposal, rejecting what they view as a punitive deal that could secure Russia’s territorial gains and pave the way for renewed business ties with Moscow.
Trump has frequently stated he wants to end the war but has yet to secure a breakthrough, despite earlier meetings with Putin in Alaska and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Putin: talks offer “basis for future agreements”
Putin, nearly four years into the full-scale invasion he launched in February 2022, said the recent diplomatic efforts are being treated not as a draft agreement but as proposals that “could be the basis for future agreements.”
As reported in Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the Moscow meeting would take place on Tuesday afternoon but declined to outline Russia’s red lines, saying public “megaphone diplomacy” was unhelpful.
A Bombardier Global 7500 jet previously used by Witkoff was tracked entering Russian airspace before landing in Moscow, according to Interfax. The delegation is expected to present Washington’s latest ideas directly to the Russian leader.
Russia signals more advances if no agreement reached
Putin insists he is ready to negotiate but warns that if Ukraine rejects a deal, Russian forces will continue advancing. Moscow currently occupies more than 19% of Ukraine — roughly 115,600 square kilometres — and has made its fastest gains since 2022 during 2025, according to pro-Ukrainian mapping, though Kyiv says Russia’s advances have come at a heavy cost in manpower.
On the eve of the meeting, Putin celebrated what he said was the capture of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine following a prolonged campaign. Ukraine, however, said its forces still held the northern part of the city and had launched counter-attacks in the south.
Europe warns against “punitive” peace
European countries fear the U.S. proposals could allow Russia to retain seized land, reopen Western markets to Russian energy and rare earths, and even restore Moscow’s membership in the G8.
Russia’s stated demands include a permanent block on Ukraine joining NATO, caps on Ukraine’s army, control over the whole Donbas, and international recognition of its occupation of Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — conditions Kyiv calls “capitulation.”
Zelenskiy said the war must end fairly and warned that Russia must not be rewarded for initiating it. European leaders share Kyiv’s view, casting the war as an imperial land grab that, if successful, could embolden Moscow to target NATO states in the future.
Diplomatic efforts intensify
Before heading to Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner — along with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — met Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, at Witkoff’s Shell Bay club near Miami. Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the United States all maintain that they seek a negotiated end to the devastating conflict. But with the sides still far apart, and Russia’s battlefield advances accelerating, the Moscow meeting marks a pivotal test of whether diplomatic momentum can shift toward a viable peace.
