The White House has issued no information on the potential meeting.
Although officials in Kyiv insist they have been in regular contact with the American side, Zelenskyy has admitted that the U.S. has shifted focus from Ukraine to Iran and that this has weakened pressure on Russia. “The problem is that the priority for the United States has now shifted to the Middle East,” Zelenskyy told Newsmax last week.
As a result, “Russia will not feel the most important thing that America can give us — pressure on them,” Zelenskyy said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is still demanding Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region, while Kyiv keeps insisting the war can be settled along the current contact line. Zelenskyy is adamant that Kyiv will never give up territories, especially ones Moscow has not managed to seize by military means.
Kyiv has been expecting Kushner and Witkoff to come to Ukraine for months, with Zelenskyy visibly losing his temper as Witkoff has visited Moscow eight times since the start of U.S.-led negotiations last year, while meeting Kyiv officials only in the U.S. or elsewhere outside of Ukraine.
“We are in contact with them. But I think they need this visit [to Kyiv] more than we do,” Zelenskyy said last month. “Why? It’s not very respectful to go to Moscow and not come to Kyiv. It’s just disrespectful,” the Ukrainian leader said.