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Russian President Vladimir Putin has held over three hours of late-night talks with United States (US) envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
The Kremlin meeting ended shortly after 11:00 pm on Saturday, before the envoys’ planned visit to Kyiv on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump has said Kushner and Witkoff were carrying a “proposal” targeted at ending more than four years of war with Ukraine.
The visit to Kyiv will be the envoys’ first since Trump returned to office, with Washington seeking to revive efforts to end the conflict.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days to allow the negotiations to take place.
Putin thanked Trump for continuing efforts to end the war, which Russia launched in 2022, despite the difficulties involved.
Putin has repeatedly said Russia wants to seize the remaining parts of eastern Ukraine.
Washington has not said whether its proposal requires Kyiv to give up territory.
Before the talks, Putin assured the US envoys that Russia would protect them during their visit to Kyiv.
“We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves,” Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv from midnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also pledged that Ukraine would not strike Moscow during the agreed period.
“From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow,” Zelensky said.
The temporary truce comes after months of intensified attacks, with both countries reporting increased civilian casualties.
Ukraine said Russian strikes killed 10 people across the country on Saturday, including members of a family in the Kharkiv region.
Regional official Oleg Synegubov said three members of the same family were killed in Chuhuiv.
“As a result of this shelling, almost the entire family was killed: a 19-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and a 45-year-old man,” he said.
Five other people were reportedly killed in Russian attacks around Kyiv and the Dnipro region.
Zelensky accused Moscow of attempting to disrupt the US envoys’ visit through overnight attacks on Kyiv and its airports.
The planned Kyiv visit comes after repeated US diplomatic efforts that have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
Witkoff and Kushner have also been involved in US negotiations over ceasefires in Gaza and Iran and have previously travelled to Moscow.
Their latest diplomatic push follows a rare visit to Moscow last month by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
