Putin orders 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv as US envoys visit Russia and Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in military strikes on Kyiv starting September 5, 2026, to accommodate a visit by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The envoys arrived in Moscow with a new peace proposal from President Donald Trump to resolve the four-year war. The diplomatic push comes amid escalating aerial bombardments, including a Russian strike on Ukraine's SBU headquarters and airports, and follows a six-month stall caused by U.S. military focus on its war with Iran.

Putin 72-hour Kyiv ceasefire

• ▪Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in military strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight on September 5, 2026
• ▪Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv was ordered to prepare for the planned visit of U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to the Ukrainian capital

Witkoff Kushner diplomatic visits

• ▪Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Moscow airport and publicly welcomed them as "peacemakers."
• ▪U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport on September 5, 2026, to revive stalled peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
• ▪U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to travel to Kyiv on September 6, 2026, marking their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since the conflict began

US Iran war distraction

• ▪U.S. diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict lost momentum over the preceding six months due to Washington's focus shifting toward its war with Iran
• ▪The U.S. war with Iran, which began in February 2026, has lasted for more than six months and largely eclipsed the diplomatic work of U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner

Escalating aerial bombardments

• ▪Russian missile strikes on an industrial facility in Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region killed five employees and wounded five others on September 5, 2026
• ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of launching overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports to disrupt the planned arrival of the U.S. delegation by plane
• ▪A Russian drone strike on September 4, 2026, hit the central Kyiv headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated was aimed at the office of the agency's acting chief

Trump peace proposal

• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump declined to specify whether his peace proposal would require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, stating only that the U.S. has "an idea for peace."
• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump attributed the ongoing conflict to a "personality problem" and mutual hatred between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin
• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump announced on September 4, 2026, that he sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a new concrete proposal to end the war

22 sources