US Envoys in Moscow as Russia and Ukraine Agree to Spare Capitals During Peace Talks

On Saturday, two of President Donald Trump’s trusted aides—real‑estate magnate Steve Witkoff and former senior adviser Jared Kushner—landed in Moscow. Their mission, as the White House put it, was to carry a “proposal to end the war” that Trump has hinted might involve difficult concessions.

Within hours of their arrival, both the Kremlin and the Ukrainian leadership announced a surprising, yet welcome, commitment: neither side would target the other’s capital city while diplomatic talks proceed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had ordered a three‑day pause on any strikes against Kyiv, and President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the sentiment, pledging that Ukraine would refrain from hitting Moscow through the weekend and into Monday.

The timing of the cease‑fire pledge is noteworthy. Just days earlier, Russian forces launched night‑time missile attacks on Kyiv’s two main airports and hit a civilian site in the Dnipro region, killing five people. Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to sabotage the upcoming negotiations, suggesting the strikes were a reaction to the presence of U.S. officials.

Traveling to Kyiv will be an oddity in itself. Since the war erupted in 2022, Ukrainian airspace has remained closed, forcing most foreign dignitaries to arrive by train. If the envoys do indeed fly in, it would be a rare exception, underscoring how seriously Washington is taking this push for a diplomatic breakthrough.

Trump told reporters that the envoy team would “gauge whether progress toward peace is possible,” and he hinted that the proposal could involve Ukraine ceding some territory—an idea he has floated before. With the conflict dragging on for more than four years, and with both sides suffering mounting civilian casualties, the world is watching to see if this rare restraint on capital attacks can translate into a lasting cease‑fire.