theSIGNAL WORLD
5 September 2026
"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice."
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World

Kushner and Witkoff carry peace plan to Moscow and Kyiv

America's two lead envoys will visit both warring capitals in a single weekend, raising hopes — and hard questions — about whether a deal is truly within reach.

On Saturday morning, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow carrying what Donald Trump described to reporters as "a proposal to end the war." The following day they were due in Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he would receive them — provided, he added pointedly, that Russia guaranteed safe passage through Ukrainian airspace just as Ukraine would guarantee the safety of Russian skies. That reciprocal condition, modest as it sounds, illustrated the depth of mistrust that still separates the two sides after more than three years of full-scale war. The visits mark a shift in tempo, if not yet in substance.

Witkoff and Kushner have travelled to Russia on several occasions since President Trump returned to office, but this weekend's itinerary — Moscow on Saturday, Kyiv on Sunday — represents the first time the American envoys have visited Ukraine at all. Whether that symmetry signals genuine momentum or is intended primarily to reassure Kyiv of Washington's even-handedness is a question European capitals are asking with some urgency. Ukraine's allies on the continent have repeatedly warned that any settlement must not reward aggression with territorial gains. The obstacles remain formidable.

At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, Vladimir Putin acknowledged that "chances" of a deal existed, yet simultaneously restated demands that Kyiv and its European partners have called tantamount to capitulation — further territorial concessions that would consolidate Russia's control over roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian land. Meanwhile, the violence continued without pause: four people were killed in a Russian strike on the south-eastern city of Kamianske on Saturday, and a drone had struck the Kyiv office of Ukraine's security chief, Oleksandr Poklad, the day before.

Photo: Evangeline Shaw / Unsplash
US envoy Steve Witkoff boards a government aircraft for talks in Moscow and Kyiv this weekend.
🗺️
~20%
Ukrainian territory under Russian control
Discuss
  • Why might this be the first time US envoys have visited Kyiv, and what does that suggest about diplomacy so far?
  • Zelensky asked Russia to guarantee safe airspace for the envoys. What does this condition reveal about the current state of trust between the two sides?
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First of all, Moscow and Kyiv must agree between themselves.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation
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theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
IVOCABULARY
tantamount toeven-handedness
formidablepageantryreciprocal
consolidateenvoys
IIGRAMMAR FOCUS
Gerunds and infinitives — complex patterns (stop to do vs stop doing)
Some verbs change meaning depending on whether they are followed by a gerund (-ing) or an infinitive (to + verb). For example, 'stop doing' means to cease an activity, while 'stop to do' means to pause in order to do something else.
to visit · visiting · to reassure · reassuring · to acknowledge · acknowledging · settling
  1. The violence showed no sign of stopping — Russian forces continued Ukrainian cities throughout the ceasefire talks.
  2. Witkoff and Kushner stopped Kyiv for the first time, signalling a shift in Washington's approach to the peace process.
  3. Putin paused briefly that chances of a deal existed, before immediately restating demands Kyiv called unacceptable.
  4. European capitals have not stopped Kyiv that any settlement must not reward Russian aggression with territorial gains.
  5. The SCO has never managed disputes between its own members in its 25-year history.
  6. Modi stopped short of Pakistan by name, yet his remarks about safe havens left little doubt about his target.
IIIPHRASAL VERBS
Match the phrasal verb to its definition. All six appear in today's articles.
  1. carry out
  2. switch on
  3. hinge on
  4. count for
  5. sit at
IVCRITICAL THINKING
The article about the SCO describes its 'real function' as a stage for performing bilateral grievances rather than resolving them. Consider whether the peace shuttle between Moscow and Kyiv risks serving a similar theatrical purpose — signalling diplomatic activity without delivering substantive change. What conditions would need to be met for these visits to represent genuine progress rather than performance?
VCREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
VIWRITING
The article notes that a framework acceptable to Washington, not seen as surrender by Kyiv, and actually signed by Moscow 'remains an object of aspiration.' Drawing on all three articles, write a short paragraph arguing whether the structural obstacles to peace — mistrust, territorial demands, and continued violence — are fundamentally political or fundamentally practical in nature.
VIIDEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong using words and phrases from the articles.
  • a difference of opinion→→
  • a concern→→
  • a request→→
  • a concession→→
  • a hope→→
  • a constraint→→
VIIISPEAKING
  1. What would a peace deal that neither side calls surrender actually look like?
  2. Can a bloc representing a quarter of humanity still be considered irrelevant?
  3. Does electricity infrastructure now define a country's technological future?
  4. Is performing unity at summits ever genuinely useful for international relations?