Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for over three hours of talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine. The meeting, held behind closed doors, ended without announcements of any breakthroughs, according to reports from multiple outlets.

The Kremlin described the talks as "highly useful," while Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov called them "constructive, extremely frank." Ushakov said the discussions were not limited to the Ukrainian crisis but also covered economic issues and potential Russian-American projects, noting "the Russian army's tangible advances in the combat zone" and the need to address "the root causes of the conflict."

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Witkoff and Kushner were carrying a new proposal aimed at ending the conflict, which has now entered its fifth year. At the start of the meeting, Putin told the envoys the situation was "not simple" and asked them to pass on his "best wishes" and gratitude to Trump.

Both sides agreed to temporarily halt attacks on each other's capitals while the U.S. envoys travel between Moscow and Kyiv. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days starting at midnight Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would refrain from attacks on Moscow through Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday for talks with Zelenskyy. It will be their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since Trump returned to the White House. The envoys were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who posted photos with the caption "Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers."

The diplomatic push comes amid ongoing fighting that has escalated in recent months. Russian attacks killed at least seven people in Ukraine on Saturday, according to Ukrainian officials. A Russian drone strike in Chuhuiv killed at least three people, including an 11-year-old boy, and wounded a 40-year-old woman, according to reports. Russia launched ballistic missiles and 167 attack drones overnight, according to Ukraine's air force, which said it shot down 53 drones. In Russia's Belgorod region, Ukrainian attacks killed at least two people on Saturday, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down 53 Ukrainian drones.

Despite the renewed diplomatic effort, significant differences remain between Moscow and Kyiv. Russia continues to demand major territorial concessions from Ukraine and opposes Kyiv joining NATO, while Ukraine has rejected demands to surrender territory. The Kremlin has not indicated Putin is prepared to abandon those core demands.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine's airspace has been closed since the invasion began, and the country says it has struggled to repel ballistic missile attacks due to a lack of interceptor missiles. Kyiv has focused its long-range strikes on Russian military facilities, oil refineries, and e-commerce hubs.

The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner was in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin. The talks come as both sides continue to intensify aerial attacks, with air raid sirens part of daily life in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.