Russia and Ukraine have announced dueling, temporary ceasefires on their capital cities as the Trump administration pushes to restart peace talks aimed at ending the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day halt to attacks on Kyiv starting at midnight Saturday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky followed with a pledge to hold off on strikes against Moscow through the end of Monday.
The announcements coincided with the arrival in Moscow of two senior White House envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are working to jump-start negotiations to end the more than three-year-old conflict. The pair were set to meet with Putin on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv for talks with Zelensky, according to reports.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the pause in Russian strikes was tied directly to preparations for the American envoys’ visit, telling local news agencies that Putin, as commander-in-chief of Russia’s armed forces, had ordered the halt specifically to accommodate the diplomatic push.
The temporary truces mark one of the more concrete signs of momentum in months for the US-mediated peace effort, though it remains unclear whether the pause will translate into a broader breakthrough. Trump has previously described deep mutual distrust between the two sides as the biggest obstacle to a lasting deal.
Read the full original report at eltiempo.com for more details.
Source: Rusia y Ucrania declaran alto al fuego en medio de los acercamientos de paz mediados por Estados Unidos (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Tommy Japan 79, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).