US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on September 5, in what the Kremlin described as a substantive discussion of peace ideas, before their planned onward travel to Kyiv — the first visit to the Ukrainian capital by Trump's envoys since he took office [1][2][20]. The meeting came as Russian forces struck Kyiv's two airports overnight, killing civilians in multiple regions, even as both sides pledged a three-day pause on strikes against each other's capitals [15][26][35].

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov characterized the talks as "substantive, constructive, extremely frank and trustworthy," saying the American side had prepared meticulously and presented "a whole series of ideas for a peace settlement" [20][30][40]. Ushakov said the discussion also covered economic issues and potential major Russian-American projects [32]. Putin told the envoys the situation in Ukraine was "not simple" but that contacts were always useful, and asked them to convey his gratitude to President Donald Trump [6][10][35]. Trump said the envoys were "two great negotiators" carrying "an idea for peace," without providing details of the proposal [9][34][37]. The White House said substantive plans for next steps were discussed and that more details would be announced in the coming week [9][32].

Overnight Russian strikes hit Kyiv and Boryspil airports — attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as deliberate and demonstrative, saying they were "a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine" [15][17][38]. The strikes on the airports were the first of their kind in a long time, according to Zelenskyy [42]. Regional authorities reported at least seven people killed across Ukraine overnight, including four in a strike on Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region and two in the Bucha district outside Kyiv [25][35]. Dnipropetrovsk regional administrator Oleksandr Ganzha said those killed in the factory strike were "doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives" [15][17]. The Ukrainian steel company Metinvest reported that a missile attack on its plant in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed five employees and damaged infrastructure [28][44], a figure that exceeds the four deaths reported by regional authorities for the Kamianske strike in the same region [10][35].

Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow through Monday and would ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so the negotiators could arrive safely [2][6][22]. He called on Russia to reciprocally ensure a ceasefire without airstrikes for the duration needed to conduct the talks [10][35]. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against cities involved in the negotiation process and that "there will be no threats to diplomacy from our side" [13][15][34]. He also said it was important that America remain actively engaged [21].

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Putin had ordered Russian forces not to strike Kyiv for three days starting at midnight, a decision linked to the envoys' planned visit to the Ukrainian capital [2][24][34]. Peskov said the information about a ceasefire had been received from the Ukrainian side [24]. The pause applied only to Kyiv, and Moscow did not agree to Ukraine's broader three-day ceasefire proposal [18][20]. Ushakov said Russia told the delegation it was confident it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine [15][41]. Russia demands formal recognition of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea as Russian territory and a permanent bar on Ukrainian NATO membership [16][18]. Putin has rejected a tripartite summit with the United States and Ukraine unless it is to sign a definitive peace on Moscow's terms [17].

Former Ukrainian foreign minister Wadym Prystajko said Russia may be playing for time, keeping the current US administration engaged while possibly waiting for the next one [28]. Moscow-based Americanist Dmitri Nowikow said the visit yielded nothing except a formal resumption of the negotiation process that had paused with the beginning of the American conflict with Iran [41]. George Beebe of the Quincy Institute argued that neither Russia nor Ukraine can get the assurances they need to end the fighting without the United States playing a central role in negotiations [27]. Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov did not rule out that trilateral talks could resume in September [22], but told an Italian outlet that "I droni stanno volando, lo avete visto tutti" (The drones are still flying, you have all seen it) [49].

The envoys arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on a US government Boeing C-32A aircraft that flew from Miami with a stop in Helsinki [29]. Russian presidential envoy for economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev received the delegation, calling their trip "an important peacemaking visit" [2][20][43]. Witkoff thanked Putin for the ceasefire, saying the meetings would be among his best memories when he retired [13][39]. The envoys were expected in Kyiv on September 6 for meetings with Zelenskyy [20][22]. Previous negotiations had stalled after the February Geneva talks ended without agreement, and the envoys had been occupied with the US war against Iran, during which Russia supported Iran [11][21].