Washington's Peace Gambit: US Envoys Head to Kyiv With New Plan to End the Ukraine War

WASHINGTON / KYIV — The United States has launched its most concerted push yet to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner heading to Kyiv this month as Washington works with President Volodymyr Zelensky on a new framework for a ceasefire and troop withdrawal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio set the effort in motion on August 1, announcing that Washington would intensify diplomacy "in the coming weeks" to determine whether direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv can be resumed. The envoys' trip marks their first official visit to the Ukrainian capital as intermediaries in the conflict.

Zelensky, for his part, has said he is working with President Donald Trump and European officials on a new plan centered on a ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops — a marked shift in tone from the acrimony that surrounded earlier drafts.

From 28 Points to a Narrower Deal

The new push builds on — and departs from — the sweeping 28-point framework the administration first presented to Zelensky in November 2025. That draft, crafted by Witkoff with input from Rubio, included Ukraine's sovereignty, a comprehensive non-aggression pact, security guarantees, a 600,000-troop cap on Ukraine's armed forces, constitutional neutrality, a formal NATO membership exclusion, EU accession eligibility, prisoner and body exchanges, and elections within 100 days.

European, Canadian and Japanese leaders judged that draft a potential capitulation to Moscow, agreeing at the G20 in Johannesburg that it "required significant additional work." The sticking point has never moved: Washington has continued to tie its security guarantees to Ukrainian concessions in the Donbas — a price Kyiv has refused to pay.

Pressure Alongside Diplomacy

The White House is pairing the outreach with leverage. A bipartisan Russia sanctions bill advanced in late July, keeping economic pressure on Moscow even as the envoys prepare to talk. Russia's public response to the renewed effort has so far been muted.

What Comes Next

The late-August Kyiv visit is the hinge. If Witkoff and Kushner leave with a framework both capitals can live with, direct Russia-Ukraine talks could resume for the first time in months. If they leave empty-handed, the war grinds on — with sanctions tightening and the fighting, as last week's deadly strike on Kryvyi Rih showed, as brutal as ever.