Russia, Ukraine to halt strikes on capitals during US diplomatic talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a halt in strikes against Ukraine's capital Kyiv during a US envoy visit to the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also agreed not to strike Moscow for the visit.

Mr Putin started talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday, according to video published on the Kremlin's channel on the MAX messaging app.

The Russian president ordered a halt on strikes against Kyiv for three days, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency directly before meetings began.

Mr Peskov said the pause would begin at midnight local time, adding that the decision was tied to preparations for the American delegation's visit to Kyiv the following day.

Later, Mr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that Ukraine would also not strike Moscow during those three days.

"I have just spoken with the US president's envoys," he wrote.

"From the moment of this conversation, we are ready to observe a ceasefire in air strikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process."

Ahead of the envoy this week, US President Donald Trump said the United States had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year.

He did not, however, elaborate on what that proposal would be.

Aerial attacks escalate

August has seen deadly strikes across Ukraine and Russia. (Reuters: Gleb Garanich)

While the two sides have agreed to this focused ceasefire as diplomatic talks take place, August has seen deadly strikes across Ukraine and Russia. 

Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a summer of fuel shortages and rising prices for Russian motorists, while some 30 attacks on giant warehouses belonging mostly to Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer, have affected the consumer economy.

Most recently, Russian attacks killed five people and wounded five more at an industrial facility in Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region, local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

He described those killed as employees at the site.

"A locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. People of peaceful professions. They were simply working their shift. They were doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives,"

he said.

Zelenskyy links Russian strikes to envoys' visit

US envoy upon their arrival at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, September 5, 2026. (via Reuters)

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as troops have struggled to make progress along the 1,250-kilometre front line.

Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv.

In a social media post on Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy said Russia had carried out overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports, and linked the attack to the planned US visit.

"Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine," he said.

"We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.

"Of course, there are and will be no threats to diplomacy from our side."

Negotiations stalled by US-Iran war 

The last known visit to Moscow by Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was in January 2026, when they met Mr Putin in the Kremlin.

They have never visited Kyiv, but Mr Zelenskyy said he was expecting them in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday.

Washington's push to end the fighting has lost momentum as US attention has been focused for the last six months on its war with Iran.

Earlier in the week, Mr Putin had described negotiations as "to a certain extent frozen".

AP/Reuters