Vladimir Putin received Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin. The two White House emissaries arrived in Moscow and were greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). According to Tass, they began their visit with a working lunch in the city center. Later that evening they met at the Kremlin: “The situation we have to manage is not very simple,” Putin said as he opened the meeting, which lasted about three hours and ten minutes.

According to statements made yesterday by President Donald Trump, the two envoys brought a proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and will present it first to Vladimir Putin and then to Volodymyr Zelensky, in a visit to Kyiv planned for Sunday immediately after their stay in Moscow.

For the occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin “ordered not to strike Kyiv for three days starting at midnight,” his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Tass news agency. The decision is linked “to the preparation and conduct of contacts with the US negotiators,” who are expected to travel to the Ukrainian capital after their visit to Moscow. Peskov added that Kyiv had provided Moscow with information about the visit of the two special envoys of the US president.

Moscow: “US should take into account the situation on the ground”

“The US administration should take into account the situation on the ground, which is deteriorating to the detriment of Kyiv, when considering the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Tass while commenting on the possible visit.

“The key question is how far the US administration is willing to invest to find a real solution to the current crisis, taking into account the reality on the ground. This involves not only the deep causes we constantly discuss, but also the situation itself, which is continuously evolving and is not playing in Kyiv’s favor,” Ryabkov added.

“The fact is that the situation, as it developed during and after the Anchorage summit, has raised many questions about the United States’ ability, in their approach to the issues to be resolved, to remain reasonable and avoid yielding to political convenience or to the influence of those who oppose an agreement. These questions remain unanswered,” he concluded.

NEW: Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow for another round of talks. pic.twitter.com/PJG0fUAoQw

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 5, 2026

Trump’s peace proposal

“Witkoff and Kushner are bringing a proposal to Moscow to end the war. We have an idea for peace. In this war there is a problem of personalities; there is real hatred between Putin and Zelensky,” Trump said, referring to the deep antagonism between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. He did not specify whether the plan would require Ukraine to cede territory. In recent months Kyiv has rejected the idea of giving up the Donbass.

“On average, 25,000 soldiers die each month. This war must end; there is a good chance it will,” the businessman commented previously, continuing to emphasize his special relationship with the Kremlin leader: “I speak with Putin, I know him well. He will not attack any NATO territory,” he said, aiming to defuse concerns about a wider escalation.

Zelensky: “We are ready to observe a ceasefire”

Volodymyr Zelensky announced on X that he had spoken “with the envoys of the President of the United States,” and said that “they have already begun working with the Russian side today.” The Ukrainian president confirmed that “from this moment, we are ready to observe a ceasefire with respect to air strikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process,” specifying that Ukraine “on Saturday, as well as Sunday and Monday, is ready to refrain from conducting strikes against Moscow” and that “we expect the Russians to do the same toward Kyiv.”

On the diplomatic front, Zelensky stressed that “our actions must be, and will be, equally strong and effective: one hundred percent.” The schedule of meetings in Kyiv with the US team “has been approved”: “We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a concrete and substantive discussion.”

Zelensky reported new Russian raids “even against the country’s airports,” occurring during the American diplomatic mission. “Last night the Russians struck a civilian company in Kamianske, in the Dnipro region, killing four people and wounding five others.” In several regions “standard residential buildings were damaged” and “in Sumy and Mykolaiv drones struck shopping centers.”

The president described these as “demonstrative Russian attacks on our airports – in Kyiv and Boryspil,” calling them “deliberate attacks, the first in a long time,” and linked them to the possibility that the American envoys “might use a plane to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv airport or Boryspil.”

“We have taken note of this Russian move,” he announced, “and next week we will adjust our operations regarding Russian airspace accordingly.” Zelensky reiterated that “there are and will be no threats to diplomacy from our side” and that Ukraine “is interested in bringing peace closer.” “Russia will be held accountable for its actions. Thanks to everyone who is helping our country and the Ukrainian people!” he concluded.

Read also