Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause on strikes targeting Kyiv, the Kremlin announced Saturday. The decision coincides with the arrival of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, aimed at potentially reviving stalled efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the order for no strikes against Kyiv commenced at midnight and will last for three days. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the move is linked to preparations for the planned visit of the US envoys to the Ukrainian capital, which Kyiv has indicated will take place on Sunday.
The visit by the US envoys occurs amidst escalating aerial attacks from both sides, nearly five years after Russia’s invasion of its neighbouring country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously stated that Ukraine would suspend airstrikes during the envoys’ presence and urged Moscow to reciprocate.
Washington’s diplomatic push to de-escalate the conflict, now in its fifth year, has reportedly seen diminished momentum, with US focus largely directed towards its engagements elsewhere over the past six months. Witkoff and Kushner, who previously met with President Putin in January, have not visited Kyiv before.
Upon their arrival in Moscow, the US delegation was met by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who shared images of the meeting on social media, welcoming them as “Peacemakers.”
The intensification of attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities has been notable recently, with prolonged bombardments extending into daylight hours. This surge in activity has been attributed, in part, to Ukraine’s ongoing challenges with air defence systems.
Earlier on Friday, a Russian drone reportedly struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), a key agency involved in conducting deep-strike operations within Russia. Ukrainian long-range strikes have targeted Russian military installations, oil refineries, and e-commerce centres, aiming to disrupt the Kremlin’s war effort and economy, as well as to convey the war’s impact to the civilian population.
The air conflict between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as ground forces have encountered difficulties in achieving significant advances along the approximately 1,250-kilometre front line. Russia has increasingly employed fast-moving, jet-powered drones, making the recurring air-raid sirens a constant feature of daily life in Kyiv.
President Zelenskyy, in a social media post on Saturday, noted that Russia had conducted overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil International Airports. He suggested these attacks were a direct response to discussions and preparations surrounding the potential use of a US aircraft to travel to Ukraine.
In a separate development, Russian attacks reportedly resulted in five fatalities and five injuries at an industrial facility in Ukraine’s southern Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the local military administration head, Oleksandr Hanzha. The deceased were identified as employees of the facility. An additional person was wounded in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and several residential buildings sustained damage in a separate strike on the Nikopol district.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated that its forces had targeted two metallurgical plants in the Dnipropetrovsk region, describing them as significant suppliers of metal products for Ukraine’s military production. Further casualties were reported in the Kyiv region, with two individuals wounded and a nine-story residential building partially destroyed in the Boryspil district following a strike.
In the Mykolaiv region, Russian drones reportedly struck a shopping centre overnight, causing damage and fires. Two individuals, a 72-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl, were injured. Emergency response teams faced repeated disruptions due to the threat of further strikes.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched ballistic missiles from its Rostov and Voronezh regions and deployed 167 attack drones overnight, including Shahed-type aircraft. Ukrainian air defences claimed to have shot down or suppressed 128 of these drones.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks in Russia’s border region of Belgorod reportedly wounded three people, including a 14-year-old girl. Russia’s Ministry of Defence asserted that its forces had intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones during the same period.
The Chenab Times News Desk