Putin meets with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin in renewed talks over war in Ukraine
Kyiv says it will abide by 72-hour truce, has spoken with U.S. delegation in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for talks to try to revive a stalled push to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The envoys' visit came as both sides escalated aerial attacks.
asserted
sides → meet → attacks
Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to pause strikes on each other's capitals while the talks took place.
asserted
talks → agree → place
Washington's push to end the fighting has lost momentum as U.S. attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war.
asserted
attention → end → war
The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin.
asserted
they → know → Kremlin
Both U.S. envoys will also visit Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, for the first time in the peace process on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
asserted
officials → visit → Sunday
At the start of the meeting in Moscow, Putin asked Kushner and Witkoff to pass on his warm wishes and gratitude to Trump, and described the situation in Ukraine as "not simple."
asserted
Putin → ask → Ukraine
Russian forces launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
asserted
forces → launch → Feb.
"Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today," presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Tass news agency.
asserted
Peskov → order → agency
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was prepared to halt strikes on Moscow until Monday.
asserted
Ukraine → say → Monday
He said he spoke on Saturday afternoon with the U.S. delegation after their arrival in Moscow.
asserted
he → say → Moscow
"From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv," he said.
asserted
he → refrain → Kyiv
The Americans were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Tass reported.
asserted
Tass → meet → Dmitriev
Dmitriev shared photos of him meeting the U.S. delegation as they disembarked, alongside the caption, "Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers."
asserted
they → share → Peacemakers
With peace efforts stalled, Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv and other cities with relentless bombardments recently stretching into daylight hours, taking advantage of Ukraine's shortage of air defensive systems.
asserted
Russia → stall → systems
On Friday, a Russian drone hit one of the most important government buildings in Kyiv — the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, which is one of the agencies involved in carrying out deep-strike operations inside Russia.
asserted
which → hit → Russia
The long-range strikes by Ukraine have hit Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce hubs, seeking to undermine the Kremlin's war effort and economy, as well as make ordinary citizens feel the consequences of the war.
asserted
citizens → hit → war
The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as troops have struggled to make progress along the 1,250-kilometre front line.
asserted
troops → intensify → line
Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv.
asserted
wail → use → Kyiv
In a social media post on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia had carried out overnight strikes on the Kyiv and Boryspil international airports, and he linked the attack to the planned U.S. visit.
asserted
he → say → visit
"Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine," he said.
asserted
he → use → Ukraine
"We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.
asserted
which → take → sky
Russian attacks killed five people and wounded five more at an industrial facility in Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region, local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha said.
asserted
Hanzha → kill → region
He described those killed as employees at the site.
asserted
He → describe → site
They were simply working their shift.
asserted
They → work → shift
They were doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives," he said.
asserted
he → do → lives
A 62-year-old man was wounded and several homes and an apartment building were damaged in a separate attack on the region's Nikopol district, Hanzha said.
asserted
Hanzha → wound → district
In a statement on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had carried out strikes on two metallurgical plants in the region, describing them as "major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine's military production."
A further two people were wounded in an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kyiv region, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration.
asserted
Tkachenko → say → administration
In the Boryspil district, a fire sparked by a strike partially destroyed a nine-storey residential building.
asserted
fire → spark → building
Russian forces also repeatedly struck a shopping centre in the southern Mykolaiv region with drones overnight, damaging retail premises and sparking fires, Ukraine's state emergency services said.
asserted
services → strike → fires
A 72-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were hurt.
asserted
man → hurt → ?
Emergency crews responding to the incident were repeatedly forced to withdraw to safety because of the threat of further strikes, returning whenever conditions allowed, the emergency services said.
asserted
services → respond → strikes
Russia launched ballistic missiles from its Rostov and Voronezh regions and deployed 167 attack drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said.
asserted
force → launch → drones
The drones included Shahed-type aircraft — about half of them jet-powered — as well as Geran and decoy drones.
asserted
half → include → them
Ukrainian air defences shot down or suppressed 128 drones, according to the air force.
uncertain
defences → shoot → force
Elsewhere, Ukrainian attacks wounded three people, including a 14-year-old girl, in Russia's border region of Belgorod, local officials said.
asserted
officials → wound → Belgorod
In a statement, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had shot down 53 Ukrainian drones overnight.
asserted
forces → say → drones
