Russia announces 72-hour pause in strikes amid Ukraine talks
Russia will pause strikes against Kyiv for three days, the Kremlin said on Saturday, coinciding with peace negoatiations led by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmirty Peskov told state media.
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already comitted to pausing airstrikes for the talks.
“As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
Kushner, Witkoff arrive in Moscow
The US envoyz Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Saturday.
They were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s state news agency Tass said.
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was sending his son-in-law Kushner and businessman Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal to end the conflict.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the pair’s trip. Kushner and Witkoff have served as Trump’s envoys to lead peace efforts in the Middle East as well as Ukraine.
The US president did not provide any details on the potential plan, including whether it involved Ukraine giving territory to Russia as he has previously suggested. Instead, he said, “We have an idea for peace.”
US envoys to visit Kyiv next
Zelenskyy announced earlier on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Ukraine on Sunday following talks in Moscow.
Recent media reports have questioned whether the pair would indeed travel to Ukraine. Despite trips to Moscow to meet with Russian officials, the US envoys have not visited Kyiv since Trump’s reelection last year.
Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, on his first day back in office, but has more recently said that the feat was more complicated than expected. In the past, he has blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and a “personality problem” between the countries’ leaders for the continued fighting.
Drone strikes continue
Meanwhile, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s domestic security service (SBU) in Kyiv on Friday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike “a major escalation” of the war.
“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he wrote on X.
Zelenskyy said he ordered “an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike.”
Ukraine has also launched repeated drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and the retail giant Wildberries.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru, Wesley Dockery, Dmytro Hubenko
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