Putin promises three-day halt to
Photo: AFP/X/@KADMITRIEV/TT

Putin promises three-day halt to strikes before US negotiators visit Moscow

US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are in Moscow to try to revive talks to end the war in Ukraine. They will meet with President Vladimir Putin on Saturday evening. Russia has continued deadly attacks ahead of the visit - but Putin has promised a three-day halt to the strikes. Putin has ordered no attacks on Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency Tass.

The decision was made in connection with the upcoming meetings with the American negotiators, Peskov added. The announcement comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised on Friday a pause in Ukrainian attacks during the Americans' trip.

Kushner and Witkoff landed at the airport outside Moscow at noon on Saturday. During the evening, TASS published photos of the president greeting the envoys in the Kremlin ahead of their meeting.

They bring a proposal to end the war, said President Donald Trump when he confirmed the envoy's trip.

Also expected in Kyiv

The last known visit they made to Russia was in January – a month before the United States started the war against Iran that has for a long period shifted Washington's focus to the Middle East.

During that time, the Ukraine war has escalated with intensified long-range attacks from both sides and increased civilian death tolls as a result.

Kushner and Witkoff have never visited Ukraine during previous attempts at negotiations. But according to Zelenskyy, this time they are also expected to travel to Kyiv, specifically on Sunday for meetings with the Ukrainian president.

Several dead

Ahead of the negotiations, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine. In Kamianske, just west of the large city of Dnipro, at least four people were killed in a nighttime attack, Dnipropetrovsk region governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.

In the Kyiv region, a nine-story building was hit in Boryspil, a couple of miles outside the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The day before, on Friday, the headquarters of the Ukrainian security service SBU in Kyiv was hit by a Russian drone, according to President Zelenskyy, and later in the evening another explosion was reported in the central parts of the capital.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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