Putin Orders Three Day Halt to Strikes on Kyiv Ahead of US Envoys Visit
ISTANBUL — September 5, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day suspension of strikes on Kyiv, starting at midnight local time, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency TASS that the temporary halt was announced ahead of a planned visit to Kyiv by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Peskov said the suspension would remain in effect for three days and was linked to the expected US-led discussions in the Ukrainian capital. He also confirmed that Putin was scheduled to meet Witkoff and Kushner later on Saturday evening, adding that previous meetings between them had often lasted for an extended period.
Earlier in the day, Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow for talks focused on efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The two US representatives are expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday, marking their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since US-mediated negotiations began.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine would refrain from carrying out strikes during the US envoys’ visit to Russia. He urged Moscow to take similar measures when Witkoff and Kushner travel to Ukraine.
Neither Witkoff nor Kushner has previously visited Kyiv, although both have travelled to Moscow several times for negotiations. Their most recent visit took place on January 22, when they met Putin at the Kremlin.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff were travelling to Moscow with a proposal focused on bringing an end to the conflict.
Russia and Ukraine last participated in US-mediated peace negotiations earlier this year. Three rounds of talks were held on January 23–24, February 4–5 and February 17–18. The first two rounds took place in Abu Dhabi, while the third was held in Geneva.
The negotiations were later suspended, with Moscow and Kyiv blaming Washington’s attention on Iran following the outbreak of war there in late February.
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