US envoys Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow before traveling to Kyiv for peace talks

Kremlin negotiations on US peace proposals

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, 5 September 2026. Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev joined Putin for the discussions, having greeted the American representatives at the airport before accompanying them to the Kremlin. The visit followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump on Friday outlining a new plan to end the 4.5-year war in Ukraine. Ushakov said the American envoys arrived thoroughly prepared and submitted a series of concepts for settling the hostilities, adding that the exchange was constructive and candid while noting that Russia intends to fulfill its initial military goals.

I would like to ask you to convey my warmest wishes and words of sincere gratitude to the President of the United States. I know that he may be facing a difficult path, but, whatever the case, he will not stop trying to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Security measures and diplomatic travel to Kyiv

Following the Kremlin session, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Putin ordered the Russian military to suspend all strikes against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight Saturday. The decision was timed to facilitate the itinerary of Witkoff and Kushner, who departed Moscow late Saturday evening for Kyiv to conduct their first mediating mission in the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed speaking with the two envoys ahead of their Sunday arrival, adding that Ukraine was prepared to pause attacks against Moscow until Monday. Dmitriev, who previously participated in bilateral contacts regarding US sanctions on Russian oil, escorted the American envoys to the airport and publicly called the trip a significant peace visit.

Ongoing battlefield strikes and civilian casualties

Active strikes continued across several regions during Saturday's diplomatic proceedings. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian artillery and rocket bombardments killed seven people across the country, with five deaths recorded in the Dnipro region and two in the Bucha district outside Kyiv. Russian regional authorities in the Belgorod border area reported that a Ukrainian drone attack killed one resident and wounded another. At sea, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that its forces hit two dry bulk vessels and a container ship at the port of Chornomorsk, alongside another cargo ship near Odesa, asserting that the vessels carried military supplies. Zelenskyy stated that Russian strikes targeting airports around Kyiv and Boryspil overnight were intended to disrupt the US delegation's arrival.

Clearly these Russian strikes against airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the American side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv airport or Boryspil airport.