US Envoys in Moscow for Ukraine Talks

US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, with the warring sides offering to curtail attacks during the discussions, according to reports from Deutsche Welle, LBC, and The Tribune.

Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS news agency that President Vladimir Putin would meet Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin later on Saturday. The two envoys landed at Moscow's governmental airport, where they were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who took part in all their previous meetings with Putin alongside Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, LBC reported, citing a Reuters witness.

Peskov said in a statement posted on the Kremlin's channel in Max Messenger that Putin had ordered the military not to strike Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight on Saturday, in connection with Witkoff and Kushner's visit to the Ukrainian capital. The Tribune, citing TASS and Peskov, reported that the suspension was linked to the US delegation's consultations in Kyiv.

Putin told the US officials in footage aired on Russian state media, "The situation is of course not simple," as reported by Deutsche Welle. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin and the US envoys held "useful" talks on a range of ideas to end the war. According to Russian state news agency TASS, the envoys left Moscow after the meeting.

Reciprocal Ceasefire Offers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday he had spoken to the two US envoys set to visit Ukraine on Sunday, adding that Ukraine was prepared to refrain from strikes on Moscow from now through Monday and expected Russia to reciprocate by halting strikes on Kyiv, as reported by LBC. The Tribune quoted Zelenskyy as saying Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Ukraine on Sunday following talks in Moscow, Deutsche Welle reported. On Saturday, Zelenskyy said on Telegram: "I have just spoken with the US president's envoys."

Trump's Peace Proposal

US President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year, but he did not elaborate on what that proposal would be, LBC reported. The Tribune reported that Trump confirmed the two would travel to Moscow and Kyiv as part of diplomatic efforts, and said he had sent them "to see whether or not we can get something done."

According to Deutsche Welle, Trump did not provide details on the potential peace plan, including whether it involved Ukraine giving territory to Russia, but said, "We have an idea for peace." Trump had promised to end the war on his first day back in office, but more recently said the task was more complicated than expected, LBC noted.

Broader Context

A source close to the Kremlin, speaking before reports emerged of the envoys' trip, said Putin was still intent on capturing more territory, LBC reported. "There is no chance of reaching an agreement regarding the front line until Putin finishes securing the remaining part of the Donetsk region," the source said.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the position Putin set out in a speech two years ago — that Ukraine should cede the entire territory of four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO — was "unshakeable," according to LBC.

Since the last peace talks in February, each side has intensified long-range air attacks deep inside the other's territory, LBC reported. On the ground, front lines have remained largely static, with Russia making only gradual gains in its attempt to take the whole of Ukraine's Donbas region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called a Russian drone strike on the headquarters of Ukraine's domestic security service in Kyiv on Friday "a major escalation," saying Moscow launched the strike "during a renewed push for diplomacy—laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy," according to Deutsche Welle. Ukraine has also launched repeated drone strikes on Russian retail giant Wildberries, the same source reported.

Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a summer of fuel shortages and rising prices for Russian motorists, LBC reported.