Zelenskyy says Ukraine paused strikes on Moscow at U.S. request

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held what he described as a "detailed and constructive" phone call with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Monday, August 31, with both sides working to set a date for the Americans' first visit to Kyiv since taking leading roles in the Trump administration's efforts to end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.commonspace+1

"September can change a lot, and together with our partners, we must do everything possible to protect people, protect lives, and achieve peace," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after the call. During the conversation, he briefed the envoys on battlefield developments and recent Russian airstrikes, and discussed steps that could encourage Moscow to end the war.oilprice+1

Diplomatic Pause Confirmed

In a separate evening address on Tuesday, September 1, Zelenskyy publicly confirmed for the first time that the United States had asked Ukraine to pause strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg on August 25, 26, and 27 — and that Kyiv had honored the request. "There were no strikes, even though Russia attacked Ukraine," he said.mezha+2

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to offer similar pauses in the future at the request of international partners to support diplomatic contacts, including clearing Russian airspace of drones "for specified periods of time and in specified directions." He noted that new meetings were being prepared in Moscow and that Kyiv would take this into account. He also referenced honoring a separate request regarding Vladivostok from an unnamed country.ua+1

Putin Declares Talks at a Standstill

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, declared that negotiations over the war had "on the whole, come to a standstill," while claiming Moscow remained open to talks "substantiated by concrete content." Putin also announced orders for large-scale strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and threatened to respond to Zelenskyy's warnings about the dangers of Russian airspace for civilian aviation, calling them "state terrorism."ukrmedia

Zelenskyy offered a blunt assessment of the Kremlin's posture: "There needs to be the right mindset in Moscow — from Putin, a mindset to end the war, not to keep fighting. For now, unfortunately, all the intel — both ours and our partners' — and all the signals from Russia indicate that the Russian leader personally wants more war."armyinform+1

G20 Friction

The diplomatic tensions extended to Asheville, North Carolina, where Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made a surprise appearance at a G20 finance meeting — his first in-person attendance at such a gathering since Russia's 2022 invasion. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called the signal "quite troubling," saying, "People are dying every day. You cannot simply return to normality." European officials refused to appear in the traditional group photograph alongside Siluanov.oilprice