Witkoff, Kushner heading abroad to discuss Ukraine peace, Trump says

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, are heading abroad to attempt to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, the US president told reporters on Friday.

During ⁠comments in the Oval Office, Trump suggested the US had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year. He did not, however, elaborate on what that proposal would be, nor did he say if ⁠Witkoff and Kushner would be traveling to ​Ukraine, ⁠Russia or both nations.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said the two men would fly to Ukraine on Sunday after visiting ⁠Moscow.

"We have an idea for peace," Trump said.

"I sent Steve Witkoff and ​Jared ⁠Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done ‌a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance ‌that we'll do it."

The duo had been ‌planning to travel to Moscow over the weekend followed by a visit to Kyiv, two sources previously told Reuters. However, the itinerary has been in flux in recent days, and the Kyiv ⁠section of the journey was still not completely certain, one of the sources said on Friday.

The Trump administration's attempts to settle the war in Ukraine have largely come to nothing, and negotiations stalled out in recent months.

In late August, CIA director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow in part to press counterparts there to consider a settlement, Reuters and several other media outlets reported.

Most ‌Western intelligence officials doubt Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in ​a short-term deal, while Ukrainian intelligence believes he is in fact ‌likely to escalate, rather than de-escalate ⁠the war in the near term.

A Russian drone hit the headquarters ⁠of Ukraine's SBU security service in Kyiv on Friday in one of the most high-profile targets ‌struck during the war.

Witkoff, ​who is effectively the lead US ‌negotiator with respect to the war in ​Ukraine, has traveled to Moscow numerous times but has not yet visited Ukraine.

Bryony Gooch4 September 2026 21:10

Russian general accused of masterminding attack on children’s hospital ‘shot in head’

A Russian general who was linked with an attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine is seriously injured after being shot in the head, according to reports.

Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich is said to have been shot on Thursday morning in the village of Probuzhdenie near Engels, in Russia’s Saratov region.

Independent Russian outlet SotaVision said the attack was the third assassination attempt on Russian officers in the past two weeks.

Russian online newspaper Mash reported that the shooter rode up to a private home on a motorcycle and fired one bullet in the torso and one in the face. The air force officer’s driver was also reportedly shot but was able to call an ambulance.

Varpakhovich is believed to be in a critical condition in hospital, Mash reported.

Read more here:

Alex Croft4 September 2026 21:01

Fallout from 'shameful' shootout in Kyiv intensifies as Ukrainian intelligence service doubles down on claims

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has maintained the claims which resulted in an armed confrontation between the country’s military intelligence agency (HUR) on Wednesday.

The SBU had formally accused Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the anti-Kremlin Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), of operating as an agent for Moscow’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

According to the SBU, Kaplunov was recruited to organize an FSB-ordered assassination of a prominent Russian opposition figure who was traveling to Kyiv for Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.

Investigators allege he was also tasked with targeting Ukrainian Defense Forces personnel in exchange for monetary compensation.

Alex Croft4 September 2026 20:02

RVC Commander denies treason, alleges coercion in SBU Detention

RVC deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov, who has been accused of acting as a Russian spy by Ukraine’s Security Service, has denied all treason allegations.

Kaplunov claimed he was abducted near his Kyiv residence on August 23 by individuals identifying as state security officers and held without formal charges for nine days.

He stated interrogators threatened that he "could completely disappear" or be "buried in a grave," leading him to temporarily agree to their narrative regarding Russian contacts.

An official in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has corroborated Kaplunov’s claims of an unlawful abduction.

Speaking on Radio Free Europe, the agency accused SBU operatives of seizing a military intelligence combat commander in broad daylight without due process.

Alex Croft4 September 2026 19:01

Watch: Shootout erupts between Ukraine’s SBU and GUR forces in Kyiv

Alex Croft4 September 2026 18:00

Why has Russia set its sights on Germany?

The motives behind Russia’s recent hybrid attacks on Germany are partly strategic, with Moscow seeking to exploit divisions in Germany over continuing support for Kyiv, explains Ian Bond, the deputy director of The Centre for European Reform (CER),

State elections are coming up in Germany where the far-right, pro-Russia party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) are topping the polls.

“With these attacks, it seems like Putin is trying to scare Germans into voting for a party who can show that they won’t have a problem with Russia,” he said.

Mr Bond said that voters opting for a party sympathetic to the Kremlin was a “puzzle” unique to Germany, that was not replicated in eastern European states.

But Putin’s targeting of Germany is not exceptional, cautioned Mr Bond.

Several states and institutions have been subject to the Kremlin’s aggression — including Poland and the Baltic states.

“Germany is bearing the brunt of recent attacks, but there is quite a lot of this going on,” he said.

“The message of this for the rest of Europe and NATO is that, while Russia may not be strong enough to launch direct attacks, it is doing everything it can to destabilise Europe, and try to scare away support for Ukraine.”

Mr Bond warned against potential German appeasement of Putin.

“Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last," Mr Bond quoted. “Here, Putin is hoping that the rest of Europe will believe that if it feeds Ukraine to Russia — it’ll be the end of it all.”

Alex Croft4 September 2026 17:00

In pictures: Russian drone strikes Kyiv's SBU security service headquarters

Alex Croft4 September 2026 16:00

Russian attacks kill at least 3 in Ukraine as US talks on the war are expected

Russian attacks overnight killed at least three people in Ukraine, local officials said Friday, after president Volodymyr Zelensky said US envoys are expected to visit Kyiv within the coming days as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches into its fifth year following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Russian forces have relentlessly struck civilian areas.

Previously, these attacks occurred mostly at night — but now they are happening during the day as well. The front line in eastern and southern Ukraine remains largely deadlocked.

Read the full report:

Alex Croft4 September 2026 15:28

Kyiv sees Europe's appetite for talks on frozen Russian assets - Reuters

Ukraine sees growing appetite among European allies for a serious discussion to be renewed on the use of Russian frozen assets, a senior government official has told the Reuters news agency.

The official said some allies wanted to avoid using frozen assets to keep them as a negotiating chip for future talks.

Kyiv thinks this is unnecessary and wants access to the funds now, they added.

Alex Croft4 September 2026 14:57

Russian drone strikes Kyiv headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service - Zelensky

A Russian drone attack on Friday targeted the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

"Unfortunately, a Russian drone struck the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, across from St. Sophia Cathedral," he said on X after speaking with acting head of the service Oleksandr Poklad.

"The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the Security Service in that building."

Five people were injured in the attack, the Kyiv mayor added on the Telegram app. Heavy black smoke rose from the site.

Alex Croft4 September 2026 14:29