Putin orders three‑day Kyiv strike pause as US envoys land in Moscow
At midnight on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a three‑day suspension of all strikes on Kyiv. The order, conveyed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, was timed to the arrival of two U S. Envoys – special envoy Steve Witkoff and former President Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner – in Moscow.
“The Russian president and commander in chief has given the order not to strike Kiev for three days from midnight tonight,”
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Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, via TASS
Vassily Tass reported that a special jet carrying Witkoff and Kushner touched down at Vnukovo Airport. They were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who photographed the greeting and later described the pair as “Moscow Peacemakers”. The two have made several trips to Moscow since the U S.‑mediated talks began, but have never visited Kyiv. Their most recent Kremlin meeting was on 22 January, when they sat with Putin at the Kremlin.
Why the pause matters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would halt its own air‑strike operations for the same three‑day window and urged Moscow to honour a reciprocal cease‑fire. He linked the overnight strikes on Kyiv’s main airport and the nearby Boryspil International Airport to “the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U S. Side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine”.
“Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport,”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, via BBC
Zelenskyy said the U S. Delegation would fly to Kyiv on Sunday, after completing meetings in Moscow. The Kremlin’s three‑day halt is therefore “specifically focused on Kyiv, where Russian attacks have intensified in recent days” and is intended to give the envoys a safe corridor for the Kyiv leg of the trip.
What the envoys carry
Donald Trump told reporters that the two envoys were “bringing with them a proposal to end the war”. He added that “they’re two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job” and that “there may be a good chance” of securing an agreement. The Financial Times, cited by CryptoBriefing, said the proposal “involves complex issues such as territorial concessions and military limitations”. No further details have been released.
Escalation elsewhere
Even as the pause takes effect over Kyiv, fighting continues on other fronts. In the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian missiles struck an industrial facility, killing five civilians and wounding five more, according to local officials. The victims – a locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist – were described as “people of peaceful professions”.
In the Kyiv region, two people were wounded in an overnight attack and a fire sparked by a strike partially destroyed a nine‑storey residential block in the Boryspil district. A shopping centre in the Mykolaiv region was also hit by drones, injuring a 72‑year‑old man and a 17‑year‑old girl.
A Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv on Friday, a target the agency says is integral to Kyiv’s counter‑strike operations inside Russia.
Aerial battle statistics
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched ballistic missiles from the Rostov and Voronezh regions and deployed 167 attack drones overnight. The drones included Shahed‑type aircraft, roughly half of them jet‑powered, as well as Geran and decoy drones. Ukrainian air defences said they shot down or suppressed 128 of the incoming drones.
By contrast, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed it had downed 53 Ukrainian drones in the same period. The divergent figures illustrate the intensity of the air war that continues despite the localized cease‑fire around Kyiv.
Political backdrop
Putin’s order reflects the Kremlin’s long‑standing demand that Ukraine abandon any aspirations to join NATO and relinquish four regions it claims. The Kremlin has described those demands as “unshakeable”.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine’s airspace remains closed – a policy in place since the full‑scale invasion began in February 2022 – and that any U S. Aircraft would have to land at Kyiv or Boryspil.
Trump framed the diplomatic push as a “new proposal” aimed at breaking the deadlock, but he also characterised the stalemate as a “personality problem” between the two presidents, noting that “they truly hate each other”.
What to watch next
The immediate test will be whether the three‑day pause remains in effect while the envoys travel from Moscow to Kyiv on Sunday. Observers will be looking for any official statements from the Kremlin after the Moscow meetings, as well as any response from Kyiv following the anticipated Sunday talks.
