Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day halt to strikes against Kyiv, a move linked to preparations for contacts with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
“The meeting with President Putin will indeed take place, and there will be talks. As a rule, such meetings have been quite lengthy in the past. Let us wait and see. We will certainly keep you informed,” Peskov told journalists.
He also urged against making predictions about settlement proposals and called for waiting for the outcome of Putin’s meeting with the US negotiators, Xinhua news agency reported.
Witkoff and Kushner landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport at 12:52 p.m. local time (0952 GMT) on Saturday. They were welcomed at the airport by Russia’s Special Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Peskov’s statement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier in the day that Russia had struck airports in Kyiv and its southeastern suburb of Boryspil overnight.
“Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport,” Zelensky said in a post on social media platform X.
He added that Ukraine had taken note of the Russian move and would adjust its operations next week accordingly with regard to Russian airspace.
Zelensky also said on Thursday that he expected to meet Trump’s envoys in the Ukrainian capital in the coming days.
On Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the Russian attack on the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) is a “major escalation that demands resolute responses”.
“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” Sybiha wrote on X on Friday (local time).
He called on Ukraine’s partners to condemn the attack and step up pressure on Russia.
(IANS)
