Trump's lead negotiator on Ukraine has visited Russia seven times but never set foot in Kyiv, a gap that undermines Washington's claim to neutral mediation in Europe's deadliest conflict since 1945.
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Trump's negotiators urged to visit Ukraine after 7 Russia trips
President Trump's special envoy for the Ukraine-Russia conflict has traveled to Moscow at least seven times without a single visit to Kyiv, a disparity that undercuts the administration's stated role as an impartial mediator in a war that has killed tens of thousands and reshaped European security.
"These U.S. negotiators would be wise to go to Kyiv," Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, wrote in a letter published Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal. "They should observe a drone-operation center and learn about the enterprise and wit of the private citizens who are innovating, adapting and making Ukraine a promising place in the free world to do business."
The letter, published May 26, comes as the conflict has entered its fourth year with no end in sight. The war has evolved into what Heinrichs described as a "shockingly lethal drone war," with both sides deploying unmanned systems at a scale unseen in any previous conflict. Ukraine's domestic drone industry has grown from a handful of volunteer workshops into a sector producing thousands of units monthly, according to Ukrainian defense officials.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a February speech at the Munich Security Conference, urged European allies to do more to strengthen the West, saying "We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West's managed decline." Heinrichs drew a direct line between that vision and the stakes in Ukraine, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has an interest in speeding that decline."
The asymmetry in diplomatic access
The seven-to-zero ratio of Russia-to-Ukraine visits by Trump's lead negotiator has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic foreign policy hands. The last time a U.S. administration pursued a mediation strategy with such imbalanced access was during the 2015 Iran nuclear talks, when then-Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart 11 times before a framework deal was reached — though those talks involved direct U.S.-Iran engagement rather than a war between two sovereign states.
Heinrichs, who traveled to Ukraine with Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Russell Mead, said visiting the country makes clear that "Ukrainians are defending their home against a country that also views America, and the West, as an enemy." She noted that Ukrainians "hold out hope for America, and for Mr. Trump specifically, while engaging with the patriotic people who are going to work and raising children amid regular trips to the bomb shelters."
What's at stake for markets and security
The diplomatic imbalance carries implications beyond geopolitics. European defense stocks have rallied more than 40 percent over the past 12 months on expectations of sustained military aid to Ukraine, while the euro has traded in a narrow range against the dollar as investors price in a prolonged conflict. A negotiated settlement that favors Russian terms could shift those dynamics, potentially reducing defense spending forecasts across NATO members.
The next meeting between U.S. and Russian negotiators has not been publicly scheduled. Trump has said he wants to appear as a neutral mediator, but Heinrichs argued that "backing Ukrainian victory is a better way to end the war — and in a way that supports Mr. Rubio's vision. Not Russia's."
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
