Russia Strikes Kyiv Hours After US Envoys Leave Ukraine

Russia launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes against Kyiv early Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring 10, hours after U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left the Ukrainian capital following talks aimed at reviving stalled peace negotiations.

The attack marked the end of a short, three-day pause in strikes around the two countries’ capitals that had been announced to facilitate the American diplomatic mission.

Ukrainian officials said the overnight barrage involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, with explosions and fires reported across several parts of Kyiv.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said damage was recorded at 16 civilian infrastructure sites, while Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported fires and destruction in at least five districts. A 26-storey residential building was among the structures hit, with fires spreading to nearby buildings.

Emergency crews worked through the night to evacuate residents and contain fires. Residential buildings, a school, a clinic and warehouses were among the facilities reported damaged, according to Reuters.

The strikes came shortly after Witkoff, a U.S. special envoy, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and diplomatic adviser, held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

The two envoys had earlier met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Washington attempted to restart negotiations aimed at ending the war.

Witkoff described the Kyiv discussions as meaningful and substantive, while Zelenskyy said the talks covered issues including air defence, energy security and possible measures to reduce the intensity of the conflict during the coming winter.

However, the diplomatic push has yet to produce a breakthrough.

The Kremlin said Monday that Russia was not ruling out the resumption of trilateral peace talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States, although it said details such as the timing and location remained unresolved.

Moscow said its strikes were aimed at military and logistical infrastructure in Kyiv and at the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk. Ukraine, however, said the latest barrage again caused significant damage in populated areas.

The renewed assault also comes after several days of heavy Russian air attacks against Ukraine. Reuters reported that Kyiv has been struggling with increasingly frequent attacks involving fast, jet-powered drones, placing additional pressure on the country’s already strained air-defence systems.

Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to its Western allies for additional air-defence interceptors, particularly Patriot missiles capable of countering Russian ballistic missiles.

The escalation also prompted NATO member Poland to activate its air-defence systems as a precaution. Reuters reported that flights at Lublin airport were temporarily halted as Polish forces responded to the threat posed by the Russian attacks.

The latest strikes are likely to add pressure to the fragile diplomatic effort, coming almost immediately after American officials held talks with both sides in an attempt to create conditions for renewed negotiations.

For Kyiv, the timing is particularly significant: the attacks resumed just as Washington’s latest peace initiative was seeking to demonstrate that diplomacy could produce a meaningful reduction in hostilities.