Updated

In the days immediately before 8 September 2026, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv, and Ukraine reciprocated with a pause on attacks against Moscow, while US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to both capitals for talks. The arrangement was limited in both time and scope, applying only to long-range aerial attacks on the two capital cities rather than to fighting along the front line. It was presented by Washington as a confidence-building step intended to create space for discussions on a wider settlement. The pause was among the first reciprocal de-escalation measures of the war to be publicly acknowledged by both governments, making it a notable if fragile diplomatic marker. Its significance was tested almost immediately: the window lapsed and Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv again, with Ukrainian officials reporting deaths in the capital. The episode illustrated the difficulty of converting narrow, short-term arrangements into a durable ceasefire.