Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered three-day pause to strikes on Kyiv as US delegation comprising Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow. The officials are likely to discuss on Ukraine war with the Russian president. The order came a day after Ukraine President proposed a temporary ceasefire with Russia during the visit of US envoys. “There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must mirror this by ensuring silence without its air strikes for the time needed to hold these negotiations and resolve the logistical issues associated with this American visit,” Zelensky said, proposing the ceasefire.
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No air strikes from our side: Zelenskyyย
He further stated that Ukraine cares about the envoys and “not Russia”, adding that the country wants “real options” to bring an end to the war that has been continuing for four-and-a-half years. “We’ll see what proposals Steve and Jared have and what Moscow will say to them,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.ย
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He said, โToday, it has been clearly established that US envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. Presidentโs team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday. We are preparing for the visit. Just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are looking out for them, not for Russia. There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no air strikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit. Our goal is to make the visit and the talks with the U.S. side as constructive and substantive as possible. We need to look for real options for how to move this war toward an end. We will see what proposals Steve and Jared bring and what they are told in Moscow in response.โย
It is significant to note that Zelensky’s proposal for ceasefire comes on a day when Russia conducted a midday airstrike on Ukraine’s intelligence service headquarters, which the Ukrainian President said had targeted the intelligence chief’s office.
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