President Donald Trump said on Wednesday during the Davos Economic Forum that he expects to meet with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky this week, while his envoys will be traveling to Moscow for a meeting with the Kremlin.
Trump said he is expected to meet with Zelensky on Thursday, though he had initially changed his plans in response to the continuing onslaught of Russian attacks on their energy infrastructure.
The meeting will take place on the same day U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, the president’s longtime friend who was in real estate before coming to work for the president, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, both of whom have led the U.S. negotiating team, will be traveling to Moscow.
“The Russians have invited us to come and that’s a significant statement from them,” Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. “Jared and I will leave Thursday night and arrive in Moscow late at night.”
″[There’s been] lots of progress in the last six to eight weeks,” he said.
The U.S. has sought to negotiate with both the Ukrainian and Russian governments during the first year of Trump’s administration, though it’s unclear how much progress has been made in crafting an agreement that is amenable to both sides because both sides have opposing hard lines.
“The Ukrainians have said that we’re 90% done and I agree with them,” Witkoff said. “In fact, I think that we’ve made even more significant improvement. I think everybody is embedded in the process and wants to see a peace deal happen.”
Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nearly four years ago.
Russian forces have, as they have in previous winters, carried out frequent attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure across the country.
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“There are large-scale brown-outs now in Kyiv and in many other cities and communities,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media on Tuesday after a large Russian attack overnight. “In the capital alone, more than 5,600 apartment buildings are without heat following the Russian strike. Repair crews, all of our energy companies, state enterprises, and municipal services will be working around the clock to stabilize the situation. In the same active and effective manner, all of our diplomats and all of our representatives must work so that Ukraine has enough air defense missiles.”
When asked about the attacks, Witkoff said, “Well, first of all, they’re in a war and so they’re shooting at each other. And we don’t condone that. We think it’s unfortunate.”