Putin Orders 72-Hour Pause in Strikes on Kyiv as US Envoys Arrive in Moscow

The Kremlin said on Saturday that President Vladimir Putin had ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, coinciding with the arrival of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow as they seek to help end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today," presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency. Peskov acknowledged that the move was linked to preparations for Witkoff and Kushner's planned visit to the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian officials said the US envoys would visit Kyiv on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

Kushner and Witkoff would also meet Putin during their visit, Peskov said, but added that there was "no talk of new ideas" to end the conflict.

The US envoys' trip comes amid an escalation in aerial attacks by both sides, with the protracted conflict showing no signs of abating. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a halt to airstrikes on Friday to facilitate the envoys' visit and urged Moscow to reciprocate.

Washington has been pushing to end the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. Efforts lost momentum after US attention shifted to its conflict with Iran in the Middle East, which began in late February.

Witkoff and Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, visited Moscow in January. The envoys met Putin in the Kremlin but did not extend their trip to Kyiv.

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the US envoys at the airport in Moscow, according to the Tass report. Dmitriev shared photos of the meeting with the caption: "Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers."

It remains unclear whether the envoys are carrying a message from Trump, as neither the US administration nor the Kremlin has offered any indication.

Russia had recently intensified its attacks on Ukraine. The AP report said Kyiv and other cities had faced relentless overnight bombardments that had recently stretched into daylight hours. Moscow was apparently exploiting a reported shortage of air defence systems in Ukraine.

On Friday, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, known as the SBU. The SBU has been instrumental in planning deep-strike operations inside Russia, targeting Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce hubs.

Ukraine's strategy was to undermine the Kremlin's war effort and economy, while bringing the suffering into ordinary people's homes to fuel resentment among citizens.

But the war's current flashpoint appeared unchanged, with both sides struggling to make progress along the 775-mile front line. Russia has recently relied on intensive air raids on Kyiv, and the brief pause in strikes could raise hopes that peace efforts are under way.

Originally published on IBTimes