Ukraine expects Trump's envoys to visit Kyiv after Easter, Zelensky's office says
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Ukraine expects U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Kyiv this month to resume peace talks, Presidential Office Head Kyrylo Budanov told Bloomberg in an interview on April 4.
The envoys are expected to lead a U.S. delegation that will arrive in Kyiv after Easter, observed by the Orthodox Church on April 12. The team may also include Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
"Kushner, Witkoff, Lindsey Graham — those are the ones expected to come. Who else will be there — we'll see," Budanov told Bloomberg.
The trip would mark the first visit to Ukraine for Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys leading Washington's delegation in peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. The pair have, however, made several trips to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A U.S. official said that a Witkoff-Kushner visit to Kyiv is under discussion but has not been confirmed, according to Bloomberg.
Ukraine hopes the visit will lead to a more robust agreement on U.S.-provided security guarantees, intended to prevent Russia from expanding its aggression after a ceasefire, Budanov said.
"We set out what we want a long time ago," he said. "I think it will be implemented soon. What comes next is another question. But on security guarantees, we have definitely made progress — we've already moved forward."
U.S.-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled as Washington turns its attention to the war in Iran. Russia has not softened its maximalist demands, including the requirement that Ukraine withdraw from parts of Donbas that it controls.
The question of U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine recently sparked controversy between the Trump administration and President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Zelensky saying on March 26 that such guarantees were conditional on Ukraine's full withdrawal from the Donbas region, including territory it still controls.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelensky's statement "a lie" — but reiterated that the U.S. cannot offer security guarantees until the war ends, which Russia will not allow until Ukraine cedes Donbas.
