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Pause as envoys arrive
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
“Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency that the decision was tied to the envoys’ planned visit to the Ukrainian capital, which Kyiv said would take place on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow “until Monday,” and he said he spoke on Saturday afternoon with the U.S. delegation after they arrived in Moscow.
The Kremlin released video showing Witkoff and Kushner being greeted by Putin, who said the current situation “is not so easy,” and the talks were continuing behind closed doors in Putin’s official residence.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement, Zelensky said a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv, the first on the SBU headquarters since the start of the invasion.
Quotes, skepticism, and strikes
Witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing with Ukraine to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days, and Putin said that “in any case, whatever happens, such contacts are undoubtedly always useful.”
Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine was ready to observe a halt in aerial strikes on the cities involved in the negotiating process, adding, “We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a substantive conversation.”
At the same time, Zelensky said Russia fired “demonstrative” strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil overnight ahead of his planned meeting with the U.S. envoys.
CNN reported that Putin ordered the pause to begin at midnight local time and that the Kremlin said it applied only to the capital rather than the rest of the country.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media TASS that the U.S. administration must take into account “the realities on the ground in the matter of Ukrainian settlement,” as the Kremlin sounded less optimistic about new ideas.
What’s at stake next
The pause is set to run through the end of Monday, with Zelensky saying Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow “and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv.”
“we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv”
The BBC said the plan for diplomatic engagements in Kyiv on Sept. 6 involving the U.S. team had been approved, and Zelensky said they were waiting for Witkoff and Kushner for what he called a “substantive conversation.”
Russia’s position on how to reach peace remained a key obstacle, with the Kremlin saying Putin’s speech two years ago that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO was “unchangeable.”
The Kyiv Independent reported that overnight Russian forces launched multiple attacks across Ukraine, including strikes on Kyiv, even as the temporary halt was linked to preparations for the Kyiv visit of U.S. envoys.
Beyond the immediate diplomacy, the sources described ongoing aerial pressure, including Zelensky’s account that a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv and the BBC’s note that Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.