Zelensky proposes an air-strike truce as Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner visit Moscow and Kyiv; Ukraine's forces are ordered to observe silence on the front line from September 5 to 8.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will travel to Moscow and then Kyiv this weekend carrying proposals to end the war. Ahead of their visit, Zelensky offered Russia a ceasefire in the air: Ukraine will not carry out airstrikes on Russian territory while the American envoys are there, and expects Moscow to mirror that restraint once the envoys reach Kyiv. Volunteers Support Ukraine is watching this diplomatic push closely, since it will decide whether the coming week brings even a little more quiet for civilians.
"There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must mirror this by ensuring silence without its own air strikes for the time needed to hold these negotiations and resolve the logistical issues tied to this American visit," Zelensky said. According to him, Ukraine's Defense Forces have been ordered to observe a "regime of silence" along the front line from the night of September 5 through the end of September 8, while Witkoff and Kushner shuttle between Moscow and Kyiv.
The same week, Zelensky held a phone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss preparations for the envoys' visit and Ukraine's need for Patriot systems. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also received the newly appointed U.S. chargé d'affaires in Kyiv — another sign of how packed this diplomatic week has been for the Ukrainian side.
Witkoff and Kushner themselves are seasoned figures in this negotiating track: both have already taken part in earlier rounds of talks aimed at ending the war over the course of 2026.
Earlier brief pauses in fighting — around Easter and Europe's Victory Day — were both followed by mutual accusations of violations, so Ukrainian defenders have no illusions about this proposal either. Units continue to hold their positions as usual, ready to respond if the quiet turns out to exist only on paper.
That same week, President Zelensky also held a separate meeting in Kyiv on the response to recent strikes — a reminder of how much diplomatic and defense work is happening in parallel right now.
Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow, and hopes partners' diplomatic efforts bring Ukrainians at least a few calmer days.
