Kremlin Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on ending more than four years of war in Ukraine in the Kremlin Saturday, ahead of their first visit to Kyiv expected on Sunday. Both Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each other's capitals for three days during the negotiations.

"Dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you to Moscow. The situation is, of course, not simple," Putin told the envoys in a grand Kremlin hall in footage aired by Russian TV. "But before we begin to address it, I would like to ask everyone to convey their best wishes and words of gratitude to US President Mr. Trump."

Mutual restraint

The Kremlin said it would not strike Kyiv from midnight Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would halt strikes on Moscow "from now" through Monday. "The Russian president has given the order from midnight tonight not to strike Kyiv for three days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russian strikes on Ukraine Saturday killed at least seven people, including in the Kyiv suburbs. Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the visit with overnight attacks on Kyiv's two airports. Travelling to Kyiv by plane would be a highly unusual move, with Ukrainian airspace closed since 2022. The envoys are expected in Kyiv on Sunday.