Putin and US envoys agree to pause capital strikes in Ukraine peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday to revive stalled peace talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides agreeing to pause strikes on each other's capitals during the negotiations. The envoys' visit came amid intensified aerial attacks, including a Russian drone strike on Kyiv's Security Service headquarters on Friday. Putin ordered a three-day halt on strikes against Kyiv starting midnight, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to refrain from striking Moscow until Monday. The U.S. delegation will visit Kyiv for the first time in the peace process on Sunday. The peace effort has lost momentum as U.S. attention shifted to the Iran war over the past six months, with the last Moscow visit by the envoys occurring in January. Russian attacks killed five workers at an industrial site in Dnipropetrovsk, while both sides continued long-range strikes targeting military facilities, refineries, and infrastructure.