The Kremlin's own published record of 5 September 2026 confirms Putin received Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin. In that record Putin states directly that a request to stop strikes on Kyiv came through official channels, the intelligence services and the foreign ministry, and that he issued the order, with the halt running from midnight on 5 September.

Wire and press reporting fills in both halves of the claim. Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, the Kremlin said on Saturday, as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow to try to revive a stalled push to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman tied the decision to the envoys' planned onward trip to Kyiv. On the Ukrainian side, Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine would halt airstrikes during the envoys' visit and urged Moscow to do the same , and he said Ukraine was prepared to halt strikes on Moscow until Monday, adding that he had spoken with the US delegation after their arrival in Moscow .

On the peace-proposal element, Trump had said that Kushner and Witkoff were bringing "a proposal to end the war," and the talks ran three hours . A Kremlin aide described the talks as "useful" and said the American representatives had "prepared seriously for this trip."

On scope and duration, the pause was limited to the two capitals and expired on schedule. Russia and Ukraine had agreed to pause attacks on each other's capitals for the duration of the weekend of diplomacy, and the 72-hour truce expired on Tuesday , when Russia struck Kyiv with missiles and drones on Tuesday morning, killing five people . During the pause window itself, Russian attacks nonetheless continued elsewhere in Ukraine, including within the wider Kyiv region .