Zelenskyy proposes pause in airstrikes during Trump envoys’ visits to Moscow and Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a temporary pause in airstrikes by both Ukraine and Russia while U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travel between Moscow and Kyiv. The aim, he said, is to allow the talks and the officials’ movements to take place safely.

Zelenskyy said Witkoff and Kushner were expected to go first to Moscow and then to Kyiv on Sunday. Kyiv was preparing for the Trump administration representatives and had discussed the necessary security measures with its diplomatic team handling relations with the United States.

Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, would not carry out airstrikes while the American envoys were traveling. “There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must do the same,” he said. He added that the suspension should last as long as necessary for the discussions and the logistical arrangements surrounding the visit.

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There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must do the same.

“We are concerned about their safety, not Russia’s,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the measures Kyiv was taking to protect the American officials. Reports that the envoys planned to reach the Ukrainian capital by plane have since come into question. The closed airspace over Kyiv could complicate the timing of the visit, while one person familiar with the situation previously said Witkoff was uncomfortable traveling to Kyiv by train.

The United States had earlier asked Ukraine not to attack Moscow during CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia on Aug. 25. A person familiar with the matter said the White House also asked Russia not to attack Kyiv while the American envoys were there, but Russia had not committed to doing so.

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We are concerned about their safety, not Russia’s.