Russia hits Kyiv after brief pause for US envoys’ visit, killing 2
Russia hits Kyiv after brief pause for US envoys’ visit, killing 2. Skip to content Menu Home | Russia hits Kyiv after brief pause for US envoys’ visit, killing 2 An explosion of a drone is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 15, 2024.
What happened
Image Credits : Reuters Reuters 8 September 2026, 10:53 [SAST] Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles early on Tuesday, resuming its air attacks after a brief halt for the visit of United States (US) peace negotiators, killing two people and triggering fires across the Ukrainian capital. Russia resumed its attacks after US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff left Kyiv following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, as the Trump administration renewed its push to end Russia’s 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine.
“The moment the US president’s peace envoys left, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X. Skip to content Menu Home | Witkoff ‘feels good’ about peace talks as US envoys make Kyiv visit Image Credits : Reuters Reuters 6 September 2026, 21:05 [SAST] US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he felt ‘good’ about peace talks in both Moscow and Kyiv, adding that the US hoped to find a diplomatic solution to the war, which is now in its fifth year.
Before the talks, Russia stepped up air attacks on Kyiv and nearby areas to nearly round-the-clock for several days, rather than mainly at night, using faster jet-propelled drones that killed residents and disrupted activities. The Russian defence ministry said Moscow hit military and logistic targets in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, Russian newswires said. The US envoys were for the first time in Kyiv for talks with Zelenskiy as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue.
The wider picture
Russia launched dozens of missiles and 166 drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack. “His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy,” Sybiha said, urging allies to ramp up pressure on Moscow, as well as to provide interceptors to down ballistic missiles, since Kyiv’s stocks of these run critically low. Kushner and Witkoff travelled from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday but did not appear to secure a breakthrough in the conflict.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 10 more had been injured in the city, while falling debris in one district caused fires at a five-storey apartment building and a three-storey residential block. The attack damaged at least 14 high-rise buildings, a dorm, a school, a clinic, warehouses and other sites, officials said. They arrived from talks in Moscow, after which the Kremlin said it did not rule out the resumption of the three-way negotiations. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.
Witkoff made the comments during a news conference held with fellow US envoy Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
What has been reported
Previous rounds of US-mediated peace talks encouraged by President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war, have yielded few results. He suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh proposal, though he did not elaborate.
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across sabcnews.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.