Putin suspends strikes on Kyiv with pause starting in hours, Kremlin says

Putin suspends strikes on Kyiv with pause starting in hours, Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told a Russian news agency. "Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today (Saturday)," Peskov said. He said the decision was tied to preparations for US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Kyiv for peace talks. The pair have landed in Moscow today ahead of a weekend on talks. Trump told reporters on Friday the pair were "bringing with them a proposal to end the war". So far, efforts from the US and its allies to broker a peace deal have failed to deliver a breakthrough. The visit comes as both sides escalated their aerial attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would halt airstrikes during the envoys' trip and had urged Moscow to do the same. Washington's push to end the fighting, now in its fifth year, has lost momentum as US attention has been focused for the last six months on its war with Iran. The envoys were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Russia's state news agency Tass said. Dmitriev shared photos of him meeting the US delegation as they disembarked, alongside the caption, "Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers." The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, was in January, when they met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. They have never visited Kyiv, but Zelenskyy said he was expecting them in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday. With peace efforts stalled, Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv and other cities with relentless bombardments recently stretching into daylight hours, taking advantage of Ukraine's shortage of air defensive systems. On Friday, a Russian drone hit one of the most important government buildings in Kyiv - the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, known as the SBU, which is one of the agencies involved in carrying out deep-strike operations inside Russia. Long-range strikes by Ukraine have hit Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce hubs, seeking to undermine the Kremlin's war effort and economy, as well as make ordinary citizens feel the consequences of the war.