Putin Unexpectedly Orders Three-Day Halt to Strikes on Kyiv

Russia has ordered a three-day pause in attacks on Kyiv as U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff move between Moscow and the Ukrainian capital.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had instructed Russian forces not to attack Kyiv for three days, beginning at midnight on September 5. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the order was connected to preparations for the U.S. envoys’ visit to Kyiv.

Russian media reported that Kushner and Witkoff had arrived in Moscow. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for investment and foreign economic cooperation, met them at the airport. Peskov said Putin was expected to meet the two envoys, although the content of their discussions remained unclear.

The visit came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on September 4 that Washington had a specific new proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump did not disclose the details. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the envoys would travel to Ukraine on September 6 after their Moscow visit.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have effectively stalled. Russia has demanded territorial and political concessions, while Kyiv has rejected those conditions as tantamount to surrender and said they would create the conditions for another Russian attack in the future.

In recent months, Russia has sharply increased attacks on Kyiv, often using rapid barrages of ballistic missiles that are difficult to intercept. Ukraine has urged the United States to provide more Patriot interceptors. Ukraine, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, ports and other infrastructure, disrupting operations and fuel supplies.

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The Russian president and commander-in-chief has ordered that Kyiv not be attacked for three days, starting at midnight tonight.