Russia's Limited Kyiv Truce Ends After Three Days

The three-day Russian truce on airstrikes in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, concluded at dawn today. This cessation of the truce coincided with an ongoing visit by high-level American envoys to Ukraine. Following the end of the pause, jet drone attacks were reported in Kyiv, with information indicating that fires erupted as a result of these assaults. Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued an order to the armed forces to halt strikes on Kyiv for three days, commencing from midnight on September 5. This decision came after Moscow received an official request via diplomatic channels, a fact Putin announced during his meeting with Wetkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin on the evening of September 5. During the meeting, Putin noted that the Ukrainian side had "significantly, indeed remarkably, reduced its strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Moscow," reflecting a decline in the intensity of Ukrainian attacks deep within Russian territory. The Russian President further clarified that Ukrainian authorities had called for a broader three-day truce, but Moscow did not respond to this. He emphasized that the declared truce was geographically and temporally limited, confined to the Kyiv area and coinciding with the American delegation's visit. Despite the specific truce, Ukrainian forces continued to launch attacks on Russian cities and regions. In response, Russian forces carried out strikes on targets in other Ukrainian areas, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russian strikes included metal industry complexes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which reportedly supply defense enterprises. Logistics centers and a substation in Mykolaiv and its adjacent areas were also targeted. The objectives further encompassed an industrial facility belonging to "Black Ammo" in Boryspil, specializing in the production and supply of ammunition and explosives for Ukrainian security forces. Moreover, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the targeting of cargo ships transporting military and technical equipment sent from Western countries to the Ukrainian armed forces, in addition to a patrol boat. These strikes occurred in Chornomorsk port in the Odesa region and in the Black Sea waters. Russian forces also struck an industrial loading complex in the port of Izmail, which was used for unloading military goods from vessels. The visits of Wetkoff and Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv (on September 5 and 6, respectively) formed part of intensive diplomatic activity. Washington continues its mediation efforts between the two parties, amidst ongoing Russian military operations on multiple fronts in Ukraine, with the exception of the limited truce over the capital Kyiv.