Putin pauses strikes on Kyiv for three days as US envoys arrive in Moscow
Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv during Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would refrain from attacking Moscow. The pause does not cover the front line. A Russian strike on Kamianske killed 5 people and injured 5 that morning, leading Ukraine’s armed forces to say no ceasefire bound them at the front.
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A three-day pause from Moscow to Kyiv
Russian state media showed Vladimir Putin greeting Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on Saturday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin had ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv from midnight and linked it to the envoys’ planned Sunday visit to the Ukrainian capital. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would also refrain from airstrikes on Moscow during the visit. BBC News and AP News reported that neither envoy had previously visited Kyiv.[1], [3]
The Kamianske strike defines the pause’s limit
Dnipropetrovsk governor Oleksandr Hanzha said a Russian strike on Kamianske killed 5 people and injured 5 on Saturday morning. Ukrainian units had earlier received an order to hold fire from midnight until the end of 8 September. Ukraine’s armed forces said continued Russian attacks meant that no such pause bound them on the front line. The limited arrangement covering the capitals therefore did not become a general ceasefire on land, in the air and at sea.[2], [1]
Airport strikes leave the travel route uncertain
Zelenskyy linked overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil airports to preparations for the American delegation potentially travelling by air. Ukrainian airspace has been closed since February 2022, and the envoys’ route from Moscow to Kyiv was not disclosed. Peskov confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner would meet Putin but said there was no talk of new ideas for ending the conflict. The itinerary was set, while the substance of the talks and the capital pause’s effect on the battlefield remained uncertain.[1], [3]
