Putin Orders Three-Day Halt to Strikes on Kyiv During U.S. Envoy Visit

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow and prepared to travel to the Ukrainian capital. “Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” Peskov told TASS. “This is due to the preparation and conduct of American contacts in Kyiv.” He said the Kremlin had received word from the Ukrainian side of a matching pause. The order covers the capital only. Peskov announced no halt on the front or on strikes elsewhere in Ukraine. Witkoff and Kushner landed at Vnukovo Airport on Saturday and were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who posted photos with the caption “Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers.” Peskov said Putin would receive them and that there was “no talk of new ideas” to end the war. Kyiv has said the pair will arrive Sunday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky — their first visit to the city.

Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine would not conduct airstrikes on Russia while the Americans were in the country so the negotiators could travel safely, and he asked Moscow to do the same. Ukrainian media reported that some Ukrainian units were ordered to observe a temporary “silence regime” along the line of contact from Sept. 5 through Sept. 8. Overnight before Peskov’s announcement, Zelensky said Russia carried out “demonstrative” strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil. The Kyiv Independent reported a broader overnight attack that killed at least five people and injured others. Attacks were also reported Saturday in Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 53 Ukrainian drones were in Russian airspace Saturday, below recent averages. President Donald Trump said Friday he sent Witkoff and Kushner with “a proposal to end the war” and that “there may be a good chance that we’ll do it.” He did not publish the proposal. Their last known Moscow meeting with Putin was in January. Talks had stalled earlier in 2026 as U.S. attention shifted to Iran. No agreement was announced Saturday.