President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks aimed at reviving efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to state media.
“Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. Peskov said the decision was connected to preparations for the U.S. delegation’s visit to Kyiv, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed will take place on Sunday.
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Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday and are expected to meet with Putin before traveling to Kyiv to hold talks with Zelensky. The visit marks their first trip to the Ukrainian capital since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Peskov confirmed that Putin would meet with the two U.S. envoys but downplayed expectations for an immediate breakthrough, saying there was “no talk of new ideas” to resolve the conflict.
Trump said Friday that he had dispatched Witkoff and Kushner to determine whether progress could be made toward a peace agreement.
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators,” Trump said. “They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done, and there may be a good chance of that.”
Trump also pointed to the personal animosity between Putin and Zelensky as an obstacle to reaching an agreement.
“It’s a personality problem in Russia-Ukraine,” Trump said. “You have President Zelensky and President Putin. They truly hate each other. You know what hate is? They have serious hate, and it’s getting in the way of them.”
The diplomatic push comes after weeks of heavy Russian attacks on Kyiv. On Friday, a Russian drone struck a civilian enterprise in Kamianske, killing four people and injuring five others.
“Ukraine is interested in bringing peace closer. Russia will be held accountable for what it does,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe also traveled to Moscow less than two weeks ago, where he met with his Russian counterpart. But the details of those discussions have remained largely undisclosed.
Witkoff and Kushner previously traveled to Moscow in January, when they held talks with Putin and other Russian officials, while their upcoming trip will take them to both Moscow and Kyiv.
