US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about three hours at the Kremlin on Saturday, before preparing to travel to Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The two first landed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, where they were greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian presidential investment envoy and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, before entering the Kremlin for a closed-door meeting. Accompanying them from the Russian side was foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov. The Kremlin released images of the meeting, showing a convoy leaving the building: suited individuals leaving under security escort to board a black SUV convoy. A dinner followed the talks.

Putin opened by stating that the situation is not simple, asking the two to convey greetings to Donald Trump, and expressed comfort and high trust in working with them. Witkoff thanked the Russian side for releasing former US Marine Robert Gilman and for pausing airstrikes on the capital during this visit. Trump stated on Friday that the two were bringing a plan to end the war, but did not disclose the text.

The pause in airstrikes was a hard condition for this trip. The US had previously requested Ukraine to suspend drone attacks on Moscow and energy facilities during the envoy's stay in Russia, with Russia agreeing to a reciprocal halt to strikes on Kyiv. Peskov stated that Putin ordered no strikes on Kyiv for three days starting from midnight Moscow time on Saturday; Putin himself noted that Ukraine had also significantly reduced attacks on Russian territory, including Moscow, but Russia never agreed to a broader ceasefire covering all areas.

This is the first time the two have arranged to enter Kyiv. They have visited Russia multiple times, most recently in January, but have not yet landed in the Ukrainian capital. If the US government aircraft lands on Sunday, it will be the first international flight to arrive in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. White House officials stated that both sides discussed follow-up steps to be announced in the coming weeks; Ushakov noted that the US proposed several pathways for resolution and promised to bring back assessments received from Putin to the Kyiv talks the next day. Direct negotiations have been interrupted for about six months, with frontline airstrikes escalating before winter, and control of Donbas remains a gap.

In market terms, this is an event-driven diplomatic options trade, not a spot ceasefire. The US is selling mediation credibility and a secure corridor for the aircraft, while buying a short pause in hostilities over the capital from both sides; Russia is selling the reception standards and three hours of closed-door time, while buying the opportunity to insert its battlefield assessments directly into the US-led discussions in Kyiv. The beneficiaries are the capital's air defense and energy nodes that need a breathing window, while the pressured side is the frontline troops unable to exchange a three-day ceasefire in the capital for a full-line ceasefire, as well as the negotiation texts still stuck on territorial terms.

Source: Public Information