Source: Fortune.com
Summary
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin to discuss efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The talks coincided with a temporary pause in strikes on each other’s capitals. U.S. officials also planned to visit Kyiv for the first time in the peace process. Zelenskyy linked recent Russian strikes to the U.S. delegation’s visit, while both sides reported casualties from ongoing attacks. The peace process has stalled, with both sides continuing aerial bombardments.
Our Reading
The announcement sounds familiar.
Putin meets U.S. envoys again, as before.
Both sides pause strikes, as before.
Zelenskyy blames Russian attacks on the visit.
Peace talks stall, while war escalates.
War talks are a ritual, not a resolution.
Author: Evan Null
Putin and U.S. Envoys Meet Again
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for talks to try to revive a stalled push to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The envoys’ visit came as both sides escalated aerial attacks. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals while the talks took place.
Peace Process Stalls
Washington’s push to end the fighting has lost momentum as U.S. attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war. The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin. Both U.S. envoys will also visit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, for the first time in the peace process on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
Strikes and Casualties
With peace efforts stalled, Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv and other cities with relentless bombardments stretching into daylight hours, taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems. On Friday, a Russian drone hit one of the most important government buildings in Kyiv — the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU. The long-range strikes by Ukraine have hit Russian military facilities, oil refineries and e-commerce hubs.
Zelenskyy Links Strikes to U.S. Visit
Zelenskyy said that Russia had carried out overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports, and linked the attack to the planned U.S. visit. “Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine,” he said. “We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.”
Strikes Kill and Injure
Russian attacks killed five people and wounded five others at an industrial facility in Ukraine’s southern Dnipropetrovsk region. A 62-year-old man was wounded, and several homes and an apartment building were damaged, in a separate attack on the region’s Nikopol district. In a statement on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that it had carried out strikes on two metallurgical plants in the region, describing them as “major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine’s military production.”
