Trump's envoys to visit Moscow, Kiev over Russia-Ukraine conflict

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, are set to travel to Russia and Ukraine this weekend for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, U.S. media Axios reported on Friday.

The report said the trip would mark Witkoff and Kushner's first visit to Ukraine since Trump began his second term. On the same day, Trump said the two would submit a plan to Russia for ending the war and see whether any progress could be made.

Witkoff and Kushner are expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, said the report. Also, on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed the visit, saying that Russia will not announce any news in advance, but will provide updates once the meetings take place.

Peskov acknowledged the ongoing U.S. mediation efforts and noted that Russia remains willing to achieve its goals through peaceful means.

He reiterated that the peace conditions outlined by Putin in an address in June 2024 at Russia's Foreign Ministry remain unchanged.

Putin in June 2024 declared that Russia would only announce a ceasefire and begin negotiations if Ukraine withdraws its military forces from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and formally renounces plans to join NATO.

Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine will suspend airstrikes against Russia for the duration of the U.S. envoy's visit and talks, and called on Russia to implement a reciprocal halt to its aerial attacks.

He added that Ukraine wants the talks with the U.S. side to be as constructive and substantive as possible, and hopes to seek practical plans to end the conflict.

Trump's envoys to visit Moscow, Kiev over Russia-Ukraine conflict

A total of 599,300 residents have been evacuated from risky offshore and onshore areas in east China's Fujian Province as of Friday night due to persistent torrential rains over the past days, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Several provincial departments in Fujian have urgently allocated 210 million yuan (about 31 million U.S. dollars) for emergency rescue, disaster relief and post-disaster recovery in hard-hit areas.

The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters activated a Level-III flood-control emergency response, the third-highest level, while maintaining a Level-IV response for the typhoon.

Typhoon Saudel, the 18th typhoon of 2026, made its third landfall in Zhangpu County under the city of Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, on Thursday morning, prompting tens of thousands of people to be evacuated amid warnings of strong winds and heavy downpours.

Typhoon Saudel has also affected 128,500 residents in 53 counties in the neighboring province of Jiangxi and forced the emergency evacuation of nearly 8,700 people there.

Authorities in Jiangxi activated a Level-IV flood-control emergency response on Friday morning.

599,300 evacuated over rainstorms in east China province