Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was briefed by US President Donald Trump’s special envoys following their latest trip to Moscow and said the two Americans were working on plans for a follow-up visit to Kyiv in the near future.Meanwhile, while Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Bishkek to attend a regional summit, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made a surprise visit to a G20 finance meeting in North Carolina, with some participants expressing anger over the appearance of the country’s representative while it is at war with Ukraine.While the Ukraine battlefield remained relatively calm throughout the day, diplomatic activity took the spotlight on August 31.
Trump has confirmed he will send envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv in the coming weeks in what will mark their first visit to Ukraine since taking leading roles in the administration's efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion.Witkoff and Kushner have traveled to Moscow and met with Russian representatives in the US multiple times during Trump's second term, fueling some criticism that the administration has shown favoritism toward Putin and the Kremlin."We will see what the US president’s envoys can accomplish," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after holding a "detailed and constructive" call with the two."September can change a lot, and together with our partners, we must do everything possible to protect people, protect lives, and achieve peace.""There needs to be the right mindset in Moscow -- from Putin, a mindset to end the war, not to keep fighting. For now, unfortunately, all the intel -- both ours and our partners’ -- and all the signals from Russia indicate that the Russian leader personally wants more war," Zelenskyy wrote.Not 'Normal'Meanwhile, in Asheville, North Carolina, Russia's Siluanov attended his first G20 gathering since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the country's exclusion from such gatherings.Trump has spoken often about returning Russia to international groupings, such as the Group of 7 (G7) industrialized nations in the face of vehement opposition from most other member nations.
