Russia-Ukraine
Putin announces 3-day halt to strikes on Kyiv amid Zelenskyy's ceasefire pitch
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a three-day halt to strikes on Ukraine amid the planned visit of US envoys to Kyiv, media reports said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that the temporary halt would begin at midnight on September 6. According to The Kyiv Independent, Peskov said the pause in strikes was linked to preparations for the visit of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv.
Meanwhile, US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow, Russia's TASS news agency reported.
According to TASS, Kirill Dmitriev, Russia's special presidential envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and Director General of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), met Witkoff and Kushner at the airport.
The development came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a temporary halt to airstrikes between Russia and Ukraine as US envoys are visiting Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an effort to advance negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kushner and Witkoff were scheduled to travel to Moscow on Saturday and Kyiv on Sunday for discussions on a possible peace agreement.
Zelenskyy calls for 'silence' during US envoys' visit
Zelenskyy confirmed the planned visits in a post on Telegram, saying the details had been discussed with the US President's team.
“There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must mirror this,” Zelenskyy said, calling for a period of calm long enough to allow negotiations and logistical arrangements surrounding the US visit to take place.
Proposal comes after Russian airstrike
Zelenskyy's proposal came hours after Russia carried out a daytime airstrike on the headquarters of Ukraine's intelligence service.
The Ukrainian President said the attack targeted the office of the country's intelligence chief.
Despite the latest attack, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared to create conditions that would allow the US envoys to travel safely and hold talks.
Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday. We are preparing for… pic.twitter.com/MTehI6o2uw
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 4, 2026
He said Ukrainian diplomats had already held discussions to prepare for the visit and that arrangements had been made to ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace during the envoys' travel.
'Real options' to end the war
Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants to explore “real options” for ending the conflict, which has continued for more than four years.
“We'll see what proposals Steve and Jared have and what Moscow will say to them,” Zelenskyy said.
The proposed temporary halt could provide a limited window for diplomacy as Washington seeks to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to a potential peace agreement.
US envoys to meet both sides
The visits by Kushner and Witkoff are expected to focus on possible pathways towards ending the conflict and addressing logistical and diplomatic hurdles.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to hear the proposals from the US representatives and assess Moscow's
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