Zelensky says failure of US envoys to visit Kyiv is 'disrespectful'

Zelensky says failure of US envoys to visit Kyiv is 'disrespectful'15 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLaura GozziGetty ImagesUS envoy Steve Witkoff (right) has travelled to Moscow eight times but never to KyivPresident Volodymyr Zelensky has said he considered visits by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow but not Kyiv "disrespectful". The pair visited the Russian capital late last year as ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine gained pace, and again in January. Witkoff, who has been to Moscow eight times, met Vladimir Putin on many occasions. Neither he nor Kushner, however, has ever visited Kyiv in an official capacity. "It's disrespectful [for them] to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful," Zelensky said in an interview with a Ukrainian outlet. "I understand we have complex logistics... If they don't want to, we can meet in other countries," he added.Witkoff, a former real estate magnate, is Donald Trump's special envoy and Kushner is the US president's son-in-law. Earlier in April Zelensky said the two were planning on visiting Ukraine, but that trip never materialised amid the US-Israel war with Iran. The last trilateral summit between Russia, the US and Ukraine was in mid-February. Less than two weeks later, the US and Israel began striking Iran and attention switched away from ending the Ukraine war, which has been raging for more than four years.Witkoff and Kushner are part of the US negotiating team travelling to Pakistan for ceasefire talks with Iran, and Zelensky acknowledged that the attention of the US was on the Middle East. "But... in any case, for us it is important to continue cooperating with the Americans," he added.Ceasefire talks gained pace in autumn 2025, when it emerged that Russian and US officials had been working on a plan to end the war in Ukraine that appeared to include several terms unfavourable to Kyiv. U...