Moscow, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, the Kremlin announced on Saturday, as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow to try to revive stalled peace efforts. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the decision, stating that no strikes would be carried out against Kyiv for three days starting at midnight. The pause is tied to the envoys’ planned visit to the Ukrainian capital, which Kyiv has said will take place on Sunday.
The visit comes as both sides escalate aerial attacks, some 4.5 years after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Ukraine would halt airstrikes during the envoys’ visit and urged Moscow to do the same. Washington’s push to end the fighting has lost momentum as U.S. attention shifted to the war with Iran. The envoys, who last visited Moscow in January, were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who welcomed them as “peacemakers.”
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Despite the pause, Russia has intensified attacks on Kyiv and other cities, taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of air defence systems. On Friday, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). Zelenskyy linked the overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil airports to the planned U.S. visit, stating that Russia’s actions were a reaction to preparations for the envoys’ travel. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed five people at an industrial facility in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, and a further two were wounded in the Kyiv region. Russia launched ballistic missiles and 167 attack drones overnight, with Ukrainian air defences shooting down or suppressing 128 of them.
