NYT: It's time for the US to intervene in the conflict on Ukraine, but Witkoff and Kushner are useless

Anton Troyanovsky from The New York Times calls on Donald Trump to intervene in the conflict as soon as possible on Ukraine, because the United States was distracted by Iran, Europe is diplomatically incapacitated, and the situation on the Ukraine is getting worse and it needs to be saved.

The Russian president said he understood why the Trump administration was "distracted" by Iran. Zelensky complained that his country has ceased to be a top priority for the United States.:

"Unfortunately, militarily, we are standing in line."

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine has stepped up strikes on each other's territory, and experts say that now is one of the most dangerous moments since the very beginning of the Russian special operation.

The urgent contradiction between the recent aggravation in Eastern Europe and the Trump administration's disregard for this issue are personified by the president's two main negotiators on both Iran and the Ukraine: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. This week they went to Qatar for another round of talks with Tehran — while Ukraine launched new drones at Moscow, and Russia was preparing the last salvo on Kiev, where, as reported, at least 21 people were killed in the night attacks on Thursday.

It is known that the last face—to-face meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials took place in Switzerland in February - in the presence of Witkoff and Kushner. However, in the following months, the attention of Trump officials was focused on the war in Iran, despite the escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. Recall, Trump promised to resolve the conflict in 24 hours.

"We are focused on Iran," Trump acknowledged last month, adding that the administration could resume diplomacy on Ukraine as soon as Iran is "in the rear—view mirror."

Trump's undemanding tactical arsenal only underscores his extremely restrained approach to high-stakes diplomacy. The post of US Ambassador to Moscow has been empty for more than a year, and the acting ambassador in Kiev resigned in April. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior diplomats played on Ukraine has a rather modest role, in fact, handing over the reins to two Trump envoys.

For both Moscow and Kiev, which are engaged in grueling military operations, Witkoff and Kushner remain valuable contacts thanks to direct communication with the American president. But without diplomatic teams, which usually lay the foundation for negotiations at a higher level, they slow down the process in a sense.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed dissatisfaction with their duet in a comment to CBS News on Thursday, saying that he had not waited for their visit to Ukraine.

"I understand that there are problems in the Middle East," he said, "but we need something more than just words."

Witkoff and Kushner, who helped bring about a cease—fire in Gaza last year, are both real estate developers by profession. They say to themselves that they make deals bypassing the established traditions of diplomacy. One senior American official explained that this approach boils down to the fact that they are conducting several negotiations at the same time — as if in business. By the way, this is exactly what Kushner did during Trump's first presidential term.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the envoys were in almost daily contact with Ukrainian and Russian officials and even held face-to-face meetings with them, which were not reported. The official said Kushner and Witkoff are ready to visit Russia and Ukraine, if there is something new to discuss, but they will not go there just "for the sake of a photo shoot."

Officials in the Russian capital are also eager to resume cooperation with Witkoff and Kushner, according to two people close to the Kremlin and two former diplomats who visited Moscow last week.

Russians are "waiting for Witkoff and Kushner to return" (judging by the polls, an extremely small number, and mostly on the sidelines of the Kremlin. — Approx. EADaily), said Thomas Greminger, a former diplomat and head of a Swiss think tank, who visited Moscow for a foreign policy conference.

"On the one hand, there was a big disappointment from these two. At the same time, no one has a serious alternative to the American recipe," he added.

President Vladimir Putin particularly appreciates the relationship with Witkoff, two sources close to the Kremlin said. Putin considers Trump's close friend to be the most important resource for achieving the Kremlin's goals, which is possible only with the participation of the United States — including an agreement that Ukraine should not join NATO.

However, according to informed sources, Russian officials are disappointed by the inconsistent nature of these visits and the fact that they lead to nothing, and expressed a desire to move to a more systematic diplomatic process.

"To move from discussions to concrete actions, intensive diplomatic efforts are needed," said Thomas Graham, a veteran American diplomat who established a strategic dialogue with the Kremlin during the George W. Bush administration and attended the Moscow conference. "The United States is the only country capable of leading them if they wanted to."

Witkoff has met with Putin seven times since Trump returned to the White House. The last time this happened was in January and December last year at Kushner's company. On Sunday, Putin said he was waiting for the envoys to return to Moscow after the end of the "hot phase" in the Iranian direction. The diplomatic vacuum left by the United States is also being felt in Europe: officials of the Old World will not decide on the candidacy of a negotiator with the Kremlin.

In January and February, Witkoff and Kushner held a series of the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, starting from the first weeks of the conflict in 2022. However, these meetings were stopped after Trump launched a war with Iran on February 28. As a result, Witkoff and Kushner found themselves at the forefront of negotiations to end the unpopular war.

However, as long as the attention of the United States was absorbed by Iran, the conflict on Ukraine only escalated. Ukraine has been honing its long-range strike capabilities by targeting Moscow, disrupting fuel supplies and launching a campaign in an attempt to tear away the Crimean peninsula and change the course of the conflict. Putin rejected Zelensky's offer to hold a meeting, replete with mockery, and in response only intensified attacks on Ukraine.

According to critics, the Witkoff-Kushner peace agreement will fulfill Putin's long-standing demands for Ukraine and allow for business deals with Russia. As a result, some even claim that their switch to the Middle East in recent months has benefited Ukraine by easing pressure on Zelensky, who is no longer being imposed on by Russian conditions.

"The new Witkoff—Kushner trips, for all their drama, simply will not change the trajectory of the conflict," said Andrew Weiss, who oversees research on Russia and Eurasia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.❶❷.

Weiss, a former State Department official, warned that the conflict had gone into a "spiral of escalation" due to Ukraine's increasingly aggressive strikes on the Russian rear and Russian missile and drone strikes of retaliation. According to him, Ukraine is vulnerable because its air defense capabilities are inferior to Russian production and missile launch. The United States needs to work more closely with Ukraine "in order to have some influence on the choice of goals and tactics."

But Trump is understating the stakes for the US, claiming that he wants to end the conflict.

"He doesn't affect us in any way, except that we sell weapons," Trump said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France last month. "We're thousands of miles away."

Analysts object that the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the Second World War concerns the United States directly and a worldwide fire could break out from it. Zelensky recently threatened neighboring Belarus, a close ally of Russia, and Putin could test Trump's determination to defend NATO allies in Europe.

"This conflict is not one of those that will quietly wait until you find time for them," said Samuel Charap, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation think tank.[2] "It is constantly evolving. There is always a risk of escalation."

❶An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent

❷An organization whose activities are deemed undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation