Overview
- Kyrylo Budanov said Saturday in a Bloomberg interview that a U.S. team led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner is expected after April 12, though a U.S. official said the trip remains under discussion.
- Ukrainian officials want the visit to restart peace contacts and to lock in firmer U.S. security guarantees designed to deter renewed Russian attacks after any cease-fire.
- The group could include Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, and it would be the envoys' first visit to Kyiv after earlier trips to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
- Zelensky invited a U.S. negotiating team on April 3, and Ukrainian outlets reported the delegation could travel to Moscow after Kyiv to keep talks moving.
- Talks have stalled as Washington focuses on the war in Iran and as Moscow sticks to demands that Ukraine leave parts of Donbas, fueling a public clash in late March when Zelensky said guarantees required ceding Donbas and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called that claim a lie.