Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes against the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Saturday, Sept. 5. The suspension of air attacks began at midnight on Saturday and is scheduled to last for three days. Peskov stated the decision was intended to facilitate preparations for a visit by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are traveling to Kyiv to discuss peace proposals with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The diplomatic mission comes during the fifth year of the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin in Moscow in January 2026, the upcoming trip marks their first visit to Kyiv since Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency. The renewed push for negotiations follows a six-month period during which U.S. diplomatic efforts were largely focused on a conflict with Iran that began in February 2026.
Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday, where they were met at the airport by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev. While the Kremlin announced the pause in Kyiv, military actions continued in other parts of Ukraine. In the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, local officials reported that Russian strikes on an industrial facility killed five employees. Russia's Ministry of Defense characterized the targets as metallurgical plants supplying Ukraine's military production. On Friday, Sept. 4, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in central Kyiv.
The 72-hour pause affects approximately 3 million residents of Kyiv who have faced intensified long-range missile and drone attacks in recent months. While the suspension provides a temporary reprieve from air-raid sirens for the capital's population, the continuation of strikes elsewhere, such as the Dnipropetrovsk region where five workers were killed, underscores that the conflict remains active across the rest of the 775-mile front line.
The diplomatic mission involves two specific U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, representing President Trump's goal of resolving a war that has lasted for more than four and a half years. This visit is the first engagement by these envoys in the Ukrainian capital, signaling a shift in U.S. focus back toward the region after half a year of attention on Iran. A successful negotiation could impact future U.S. foreign policy and the allocation of military and humanitarian aid, though previous talks in early 2026 did not result in a breakthrough.
The immediate outlook depends on the security of the envoys during their planned transit to Kyiv on Sunday, Sept. 6. Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will not conduct strikes against Russia during the visit, though he noted that recent Russian attacks on Kyiv and Boryspil airports appeared to be a reaction to the U.S. travel plans. The 72-hour pause is scheduled to expire early next week, at which point Zelenskyy indicated Ukraine would "adjust" its operations regarding Russian airspace. No specific dates for follow-up summits or formal ceasefire votes have been announced.