Putin hosts Trump envoys in Moscow for Ukraine peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for over three hours, as Washington pushes to revive negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Putin welcomed the delegation, calling the situation "not simple," and asked them to convey his gratitude to President Donald Trump. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov called the talks "substantive, very frank and constructive," covering peace settlement ideas, battlefield assessments, and Russia's "root causes" of the conflict, alongside economic matters and potential joint projects. The envoys later departed for Kyiv for talks on Sunday. The diplomatic push coincided with a temporary pause in strikes on Moscow and Kyiv, ordered by Putin and agreed by Ukraine, though fighting continued elsewhere. Zelenskyy accused Russia of striking Kyiv and Boryspil airports to disrupt the US delegation's visit, which marks their first trip to Ukraine since Trump returned to office.