Putin orders three-day halt to strikes on Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to stop attacks on Kyiv for three days, beginning at midnight, as two US envoys arrive in Moscow for talks with him.

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The key question is how far the US administration is prepared to invest in pursuing a real solution to the current crisis, taking into account the situation on the ground.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Tass news agency that the pause would coincide with the arrival of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The envoys are already in Moscow, having arrived on a private jet, and are scheduled to meet Putin.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the central question was how far the US administration was prepared to invest in finding a real solution to the crisis while taking account of conditions on the ground. “This situation is not developing in Kyiv’s favor,” Tass quoted him as saying.

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This situation is not developing in Kyiv’s favor.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a sharply different account of events. He said Russian forces had carried out deliberate attacks overnight on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil, describing them as demonstrative strikes linked to preparations for a possible US flight to Ukraine.

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During the night there were also demonstrative Russian attacks on our airports, in Kyiv and Boryspil. Deliberate attacks, for the first time in quite some time.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had taken note of the move and would adjust its operations concerning Russian airspace the following week. He also reported that a Russian strike hit a civilian company in Kamianske, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing four people and injuring five. He said residential buildings were damaged in Kherson, Boryspil and the Kharkiv region, while drones hit shopping centers in Sumy and Mykolaiv.

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We have taken note of this Russian move and next week will adjust our operations regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the skies.