Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to the region for talks aimed at ending the war, according to September 5 reporting by ABC News. The announced pause concerns the Ukrainian capital, rather than a halt to fighting across all of Ukraine.
Witkoff and Kushner met Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday. The Associated Press reported that the closed-door meeting lasted more than three hours and ended without an announced breakthrough. The envoys were expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday.
AP also reported that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals while the discussions took place. A temporary pause tied to diplomatic visits leaves the broader war and the terms of any lasting settlement unresolved.
The website report specifies the geographic scope of the announced pause. The original Stat Crux X post used the broader word “ceasefire”; the available reporting supports a limited pause in attacks on the capitals, not an end to hostilities throughout the country.
