August 24, 2026

If the planned visit of US President’s special representative Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Ukraine is postponed due to security risks amid Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, such a reason could have a contradictory political signal for Ukraine and Russia

This opinion was expressed by Maria Ulyanovskaya, a correspondent for Independence Avenue Media in the United States, in the project “Now the Main Thing” on Espresso.

According to her, the visit of American representatives was not canceled outright, but it was postponed. The journalist noted that information about the possible reason for the postponement was made public by her colleague from Radio Liberty in Washington, citing her own sources.

“If we talk, let’s start with this topic about the long-awaited visit of the United States special representatives, Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Ukraine, which was expected since the beginning of this month, which was announced but not fully confirmed. It did not take place over the weekend. And, as a Radio Liberty journalist in Washington, my colleague, writes, citing sources, it could have happened and the visit was not canceled altogether, but it was postponed, due to security risks, due to the alleged intensification of missile strikes and drone strikes on Kyiv last week,” said Maria Ulyanovska.

At the same time, the journalist drew attention to the contradictions of such an explanation. According to her, despite the Russian attacks, American senators and other high-ranking international representatives came to Kyiv.

“If this is indeed the case, then this is a very contradictory message, because, firstly, there were American senators in Kyiv, such as Richard Blumenthal and Senator Lankford. There was former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence. There were other world leaders, such as Alexander Stubb. These threats from Russia did not stop them,” the correspondent noted.

She also recalled that former US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv during a full-scale war, and Russian shelling was not a reason for canceling his visit.

“Former President of the United States Joe Biden himself came to Kyiv before, he did not postpone his trip due to the constant threats of missile attacks from Russia,” Ulyanovskaya said.

According to her, a peculiar perception of the arrival of American delegations has even formed in Kyiv.

“And even vice versa, there is already a tradition among Kyiv residents that when this esteemed delegation arrives, especially a delegation from the United States, it means that the night will be more or less calm,” the journalist said.

Ulyanovskaya also noted that Witkoff and Kushner had previously visited hot zones and regions where conflicts were taking place.

“And earlier, it’s interesting that Witkoff and Kushner had already traveled to hot zones, to conflict zones, for negotiations, and that didn’t stop them from coming there,” she emphasized.

According to the journalist, if the reason for the postponement was indeed fears about Russian attacks, this raises a number of questions about Washington’s political signal.

“So the question here is what political signal does this send? Does it say that the US is targeting Russia when planning its visits? Does it say that Russia does not respect the United States’ negotiators? Does it say that the United States cannot ensure the safety of its special representatives?” Ulyanovskaya noted.

She emphasized that each of these scenarios is concerning, as it concerns not only the safety of the American delegation, but also the perception of the United States as a state that plays a key role in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

“Well, these are all very, very worrying questions, because if they really didn’t come out of fear of Russian missile attacks, then it raises a lot of questions about the capabilities of the United States and how much Russia respects the United States as a leading country and especially a country in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” the journalist concluded.

• On August 24, it became known that US President’s special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “slightly postponed” their long-awaited visit to Ukraine due to the intensification of Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv last week.

https://espreso.tv/svit-yakshcho-vitkoff-ta-kushner-vidklali-vizit-do-kieva-cherez-rosiyski-udari-tse-viklikae-pitannya-pro-spromozhnosti-ssha-ulyanovska