Kremlin talks aim to revive stalled peace push

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for talks to try to revive a stalled push to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The meeting, which lasted more than three hours in closed-door sessions, came as both sides continued to escalate aerial attacks, according to reports from The Associated Press, India Today, and The Mercury News.

Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to pause strikes on each other's capitals while the talks took place. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency that Putin had ordered no strikes against Kyiv for three days starting at midnight. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and expected Russia to do the same for Kyiv.

Washington's push to end the fighting has lost momentum as U.S. attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war, according to the reports. The envoys' visit came amid a wider escalation of aerial attacks, with Russia intensifying strikes on Kyiv and other cities and Ukraine carrying out deep-strike operations against Russian targets.

Envoys to visit Kyiv for first time

The American envoys are due to visit Kyiv on Sunday for the first time in the peace process, Ukrainian officials said. Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, last visited Moscow in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin.

At the start of the meeting, Putin asked Kushner and Witkoff to convey his warm wishes and gratitude to Trump, and described the situation in Ukraine as "not simple." The envoys were met at the airport in Moscow by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who shared photographs of the meeting with the caption "Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers," as reported by Tass.

Continued fighting despite talks

The latest round of attacks came as Moscow hosted the U.S. envoys and both sides briefly agreed to avoid strikes on Kyiv and Moscow during the talks. Russia has stepped up attacks on Kyiv and other cities, with bombardments continuing into daylight hours as Ukraine faces shortages of air defense systems, according to The Mercury News.

On Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had struck two metallurgical plants in Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region, describing them as "major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine's military production." Ukraine's long-range strikes have hit Russian military facilities, oil refineries, and e-commerce hubs.

Russian attacks killed five people and wounded five others at an industrial facility in Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. In Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, two people were killed and three others were wounded by Ukrainian attacks on Saturday, according to local authorities.

Strikes on both sides of the border

A Russian drone struck a house in Chuhuiv in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, killing at least three people and wounding a 40-year-old woman, according to regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov. Two people were killed and another person was wounded in a Russian drone attack on the Bucha district of Ukraine's Kyiv region on Saturday, according to local officials.

Russian forces repeatedly struck a shopping center in the southern Mykolaiv region with drones overnight, damaging retail premises and sparking fires, according to Ukraine's state emergency services. Emergency crews responding to the attack were repeatedly forced to withdraw to safety because of the threat of further strikes.

Ukraine's air force reported Russia launched ballistic missiles from its Rostov and Voronezh regions and deployed 167 attack drones overnight, including Shahed-type aircraft. Ukraine's air defense shot down or suppressed 128 drones, while Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 53 Ukrainian drones overnight.

In a social media post, Zelenskyy linked Russian overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports to the envoys' visit, saying they were a reaction to talks and preparations for the visit. He also said Ukraine would adjust its approach to Russian airspace next week because it had become dangerous due to drones and missiles.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as troops have struggled to make progress along the 1,250-kilometer (775-mile) front line, with Russia recently using fast-flying, jet-powered drones.