US envoys not visiting Kiev, Zelensky calls it "disrespect"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that he finds it unacceptable and disrespectful that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow without first going to Kiev.

According to him, the two officials went to the Russian capital late last year, when talks on a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine were gaining momentum, and again in January. 

Witkoff, who has visited Moscow eight times, has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin several times. However, neither he nor Kushner have ever visited Kiev in an official capacity.

"It's disrespectful for them to go to Moscow and not come to Kiev, just disrespectful," Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media. 

"We understand that the logistics are complicated... If they don't want to come, we can meet in other places," he added.

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Earlier in April, Zelensky had stated that the two were planning a visit to Ukraine, but it did not materialize due to escalating tensions between the US, Israel and Iran. 

Now they are involved in ceasefire talks in Pakistan, while US attention has shifted to the Middle East. 

Zelensky acknowledged that the US focus is currently there, but stressed the importance of continuing cooperation with the Americans.

"But in any case, it is important for us to continue cooperation with the Americans," he said.

Ceasefire talks intensified in the fall of 2025, when it was revealed that Russian and American officials had been working on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, which included several conditions that were not favorable to Kiev. Ukraine sought to be included in these negotiations, and several meetings and summits were held.

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By February, both Moscow and Kiev claimed to have reached an agreement on several “military issues,” including the front line and monitoring of the ceasefire. However, several unresolved issues remain, such as Ukraine’s demand for the return of children forcibly deported from Russia and Moscow’s insistence on “regime change” in Kiev.

The main issue remains the status of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russia's demand for Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace is unacceptable to Kiev, and neither side is giving up, leaving the negotiation process at an impasse.

“We are looking for a compromise between two completely opposite positions,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, said in February. “So far we haven’t found it.”

The war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has become a daily reality for Ukrainians for more than four years. Large parts of eastern Ukraine are under Russian control, while fighting continues along a long front line from Luhansk in the northeast to Kherson in the south.

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Ukrainian cities regularly face airstrikes, with Russia using hundreds of drones and missiles that cause civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure.

In the past week alone, Russia has launched more than 700 drones and missiles in waves of attacks, killing at least 18 people. Meanwhile, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, attacking it with long-range drones, striking ports, factories, warehouses and oil terminals deep inside Russian territory.