Russia orders three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv during US diplomatic talks

Russia has ordered a three-day pause in strikes on Kyiv just as US envoys arrived in Moscow to revive stalled efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the halt would begin at midnight local time and was linked to preparations for the American delegation’s visit to Kyiv the following day.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday, local time. Their motorcade, accompanied by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, left Vnukovo International Airport and headed into the city. US President Donald Trump had said the United States possessed a fresh, concrete proposal to end the war, now in its fifth year, but he did not explain what it involved.

Zelenskyy had said Ukraine would halt air strikes during the envoys’ visit and urged Moscow to do the same. In a social media post, he also said Russia had carried out overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports. He linked those attacks to preparations for a possible US flight to Ukraine, saying, “Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine.”

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Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine.

The limited pause follows a deadly August for both countries. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries contributed to fuel shortages and higher prices for motorists, while attacks on large warehouses, mostly belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, affected the consumer economy.

Russian attacks also killed five people and wounded five at an industrial facility in southern Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. He said the victims were employees. “A locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. People of peaceful professions. They were simply working their shift,” Hanzha said. Fighting has intensified along the 1,250-kilometre front line, while Kyiv residents continue to hear air-raid sirens and Russia has used fast-flying, jet-powered drones.

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A locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. People of peaceful professions. They were simply working their shift. They were doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives.