Vladimir Putin has commenced a meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to the Kremlin.

The Russian president said they have a difficult situation to address during negotiations.

Donald Trump’s envoys have arrived at the Kremlin, Russia, according to state media.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s economic cooperation chief, Tass reported.

A meeting with Vladimir Putin “may take place”, the agency said.

Tomorrow will be the first time Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have visited Ukraine, says Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.

By contrast, this weekend marks Witkoff’s ninth visit to Moscow.

Bennett says he doesn’t expect much in terms of substantial progress.

“I very much doubt we’ll see any because on the main issue of territory, the two sides still remain miles apart.”

Russia does “increasingly want” an end to the war, as Vladimir Putin feels more economic and political pressure, but there’s no sign of compromise.

“Despite this sudden flurry of diplomatic activity this weekend I think we won’t be seeing any more than just handshakes.”

Washington’s NATO envoy says the US will stand by ‌countries dealing with actions of hybrid war.

NATO members should not tolerate it, said Matthew ​Whitaker,

Whitaker said last month’s ​attempted drone attack at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle ‌Airport, which Berlin has blamed on Russia, was more ​worrying than other recent incidents NATO members have faced due to Russian drones targeting Ukraine ​that strayed off course.

“If we ⁠can identify who’s doing it — ​which Germany did — we
make sure ​we express strongly that is unacceptable ​and we will
not tolerate it,” Whitaker ⁠said.

Critical infrastructure, including energy assets, could be targeted and should be monitored by national ⁠authorities, he added.

The response to these ​challenges is primarily national, but the United ​States supports countries when they are dealing with these acts, he ‌said.

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

After months of inactivity on the peace process, suddenly some movement. But what does it mean? And will there be a breakthrough?

We’re used to seeing Donald Trump’s peace envoys in Moscow (this is Steve Witkoff’s ninth visit to Russia) but not Kyiv, which they’ll visit for the first time tomorrow.

That’s significant and could reflect the changing relationship between the US president and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Having previously favoured Russia’s arguments, perhaps the White House is now more open to Ukraine’s point of view. We’ll see.

Both sides ‘feel the pressure’

I think the visits definitely reflect a growing desire on both sides for an end to the fighting. 

The war has escalated in recent months and it’s come at a cost for both Moscow and Kyiv

On the Ukrainian side, Russian strikes are having an increasingly devastating effect because of a lack of interceptor missiles.

Civilian casualties are mounting, and high-profile sites are vulnerable. 

Only yesterday, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s security services in downtown Kyiv.

On the Russian side, the consequences are rising as a result of Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks. 

Hits on oil refineries have caused fuel shortages and forced Russia to start importing petrol (practically unheard of for an energy superpower), while the targeting of sites belonging to the country’s biggest online retailers has disrupted a major logistics network and damaged the consumer economy.

So both sides are feeling the pressure, and have appeared to signal to the US in recent weeks that they want it to re-engage with the peace process.

But does that mean this time will be any different? Is a deal imminent?

Trump optimism v territorial divide

Donald Trump sounds hopeful, but then again he always does. He claimed yesterday to have a fresh proposal to end the war.

Whatever it is, though, I’m sceptical it’ll work, because the two sides remain miles apart on the key issue of territory.

Russia still wants all of the Donbas region, including land its forces are yet to occupy. 

But for Ukraine, that’s a non-starter, having fought so hard to defend it.

And there’s no sign of compromise – yesterday, the Kremlin described its position as “unshakeable”.

So despite the flurry of diplomacy this weekend, I think it’s unlikely Donald Trump’s envoys will be returning home with anything other than air miles.

Watch Bennett’s analysis here as well…

US envoys have begun working with Moscow officials, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy, having himself spoken with Donald Trump’s team.

He says their conversation marks the moment Ukraine is “ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process”. 

“From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv.”

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, however, has said it would cease attacks on Kyiv for three days “starting at midnight today”.

Zelenskyy said the plan for diplomatic engagements in Kyiv with US officials this weekend had been signed off.

“We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a substantive conversation.”

Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Kremlin said Vladimir Putin had ordered a halt to attacks on Kyiv from midnight for 72 hours.

It comes as part of the US-led efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are in Moscow today and will travel to Kyiv tomorrow.

But this summer, Russia has relentlessly hammered the Ukrainian capital.

Facing a severe air defence shortage, Russia’s ballistic missiles especially have repeatedly found their target, killing dozens.

The below timeline runs through many (but not all) of the Russian attacks on Kyiv since the beginning of May.

Ahead of meeting with the Russian president, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff stopped off for lunch in central Moscow.

State news pictured them getting something to eat on Trubnaya Street with Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

They are due to meet Putin himself later.

Much of the most impactful fighting at the moment, takes place in the air.

Ukraine has found recent success with a long-range drone campaign, while Russia has bombarded its cities with ballistic missiles.

Due to an air defence shortage, Ukraine currently finds itself unable to knock the missiles out the sky.

Among all this, fighting on the ground continues.

Russia is making grinding, but slow, gains, but has not scored a significant win in some time.

While Donald Trump may be confident that his envoys’ trip to Moscow and Kyiv may prove fruitful, our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett is sceptical. 

Bennett said there was “no sign that the fundamental obstacles to peace” had been removed ahead of the latest round of talks.

He said these were: 

• Territorial issues in Ukraine’s occupied east,
• And security guarantees for Ukraine’s future in the event of any possible peace.

Bennett added there was no sign Russia was willing to compromise, pointing to its continued demands for the entire Donbas region – even though it hasn’t conquered all of it.

He went on:

“Despite this flurry of diplomacy we’re seeing in Moscow today, and we’ll see in Kyiv tomorrow, I have to say that hopes are not high that it’ll amount to much. But let’s see what happens.”

As we reported, a Kremlin spokesperson has said Vladimir Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out on Kyiv for 72 hours, from midnight tonight.

However, while Moscow may be trying to show it is engaging in peace efforts, Ukraine is warning of possible drone attacks right now.

After carrying out overnight attacks on Ukraine, Russian strikes appear to be continuing throughout the day.

Since 1.30pm in the UK, Ukraine’s air force has repeatedly warned of Russian drones. It said they were over the following regions:

• Dnipropetrovsk
• Poltava
• Vinnytsia
• And Rivne

Tap here to register your interest for Sky News Defence Insider – launching with a free trial soon.

Vladimir Putin has ordered that no strikes are carried out on Kyiv for three days starting from midnight, his spokesperson has said.

Dmitry Peskov confirmed to state news agency TASS that the Russian leader would meet with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff today as well.

Peskov said:

“Indeed, such information was received from the Ukrainian side. Russian president and supreme commander-in-chief Putin issued an order to hold off on strikes on Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today. This is due to the preparation and conduct of American contacts in Kyiv.”

This comes after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would carry out no attacks during the duration of the visit from Washington and called on Russia to do the same.

Initially, Russia appeared to ignore the request from yesterday evening, carrying out attacks overnight.

The top Vladimir Putin official who welcomed Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at Vnukovo Airport this morning has dubbed them both “Moscow peacemakers”.

Kirill Dmitriev shared images of himself shaking Kushner’s hand (see our previous post for more) and a link to Reuters coverage of the meeting.

Russia frequently tries to paint itself as having close ties to the US and plays up such meetings.

The US envoys have previously visited Moscow but are yet to visit Kyiv – with their first trip planned for tomorrow.

Here are some of the latest images from Moscow.

Donald Trump’s envoys, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, have arrived in the Russian capital, as we reported previously.

They were greeted by Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev and pictured shaking hands and talking.

Our military analyst Sean Bell has grim tidings regarding peace talks due to take place this weekend and into early next week.

He isn’t holding out much hope for the US-led efforts. Speaking with presenter Samantha Washington, he said:

“I think it’s far more likely that Putin will be waiting to see whether Trump is going to sell out Ukraine, and what efforts he can bring to bear to push pressure on to President Zelenskyy. I don’t hold that much hope at this stage.”

Watch Bell’s latest analysis above.

The US envoys have been loaded into a motorcade and have left the airport.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were met by Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

They then left the airport and are now heading towards Moscow.

Donald Trump’s envoys have landed in Moscow.

Both TASS and RIA reported on the landing.

Similarly, according to Flight Radar data, a US Air Force special aircraft with tail number SAM934 landed at Vnukovo Airport this morning.

According to the tracking site, it left Miami International Airport and made a stop in Helsinki on the way over.

‘Bringing with them a proposal’

Donald Trump dispatched his envoys for another visit to Moscow and their first to Kyiv, this weekend.

Previously, the US president said: “They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war.”

Little detail is known about the trip.

But Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they would visit Kyiv tomorrow and Ukraine would refrain from striking Russia during the visit. Russia, meanwhile, attacked Ukraine overnight.

Previous diplomatic efforts to end the war have proven unsuccessful and made little progress.

Ukraine’s military has said it launched a series of short-range strikes on Russian targets yesterday.

Among the sites hit were a radar station and targets in Bryansk, Pogar and Zlynka, its army said in a statement this morning.

An “electronic warfare system” was also among the targets hit, it added.

The attacks took place yesterday and Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wouldn’t attack during the US envoys’ visit, something he reiterated this morning.

We’ve heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time today.

The Ukrainian president said Russia hit two Ukrainian airports overnight, in Kyiv and Boryspil.

These attacks were described as “deliberate” and were the “first time in a while” that Ukraine’s airports had been hit.

Zelenskyy said:

“Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport.”

He added that Ukraine had “taken note of this Russian move” and implied it would respond next week.

Zelenskyy also appeared to double down on Ukraine not carrying out attacks during the visit of the US envoys.