Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, coinciding with the arrival of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow. The temporary halt comes amid renewed US diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US delegation held more than three hours of talks with Putin in Moscow. Kremlin officials described the discussions as useful and constructive, although no major breakthrough was announced. The talks reportedly covered possible pathways toward resolving the conflict as well as broader Russia-US relations and economic cooperation.
Following the Moscow meeting, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, major differences remain between Moscow and Kyiv, particularly over territory and Ukraine’s future security arrangements. The 72-hour pause is therefore being viewed as a limited diplomatic opening rather than a broader ceasefire, with hopes that the US-led engagement could restart stalled peace efforts.
