In the long and grinding arc of the Ukraine war, two American envoys have traced a diplomatic path from Moscow to Kyiv, carrying with them the hope — or at least the posture — of a negotiated end. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin before traveling to Ukraine, proposing a trilateral framework that would seat Russia, Ukraine, and the United States at a common table. The sequence of their journey speaks its own language: America is positioning itself not as Ukraine's sole advocate, but as a broker between two exhausted combatants. Whether the parties themselves are ready to