Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine ahead of US peace envoys

Kyiv,UPDATED: Sep 5, 2026 15:24 IST

Russian attacks killed four people in Ukraine overnight, officials said, as Moscow and Kyiv awaited the arrival of US envoys for a fresh push to end the Kremlin's 4 1/2-year-old invasion.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, are expected to visit in an effort to revive peace talks at a time when aerial attacks by both sides are intensifying.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has grown sharper as troops on both sides have struggled to make gains along the 1,250-km front line. Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, while the sound of air-raid sirens has become a routine part of life in Kyiv.

The attacks came despite a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday saying Ukraine would stop air attacks during the visit by Witkoff and Kushner and calling on Moscow to do the same. "Just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely," Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no airstrikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit."

In Ukraine's southern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian attacks killed four people and wounded five others at an industrial facility, local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha said. In a separate attack on the region's Nikopol district, a 62-year-old man was wounded and several private homes and an apartment building were damaged, he said.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that it had struck two metallurgical plants in the region, calling them "major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine's military production".

In Ukraine's Kyiv region, two more people were wounded in an overnight Russian attack, according to regional military administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In the Boryspil district, a fire caused by the strike partially destroyed a nine-storey residential building.

Russian forces also repeatedly hit a shopping centre in the southern Mykolaiv region with drones overnight, Ukraine's state emergency services said. Retail premises were damaged and fires broke out. A 72-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were injured. Emergency crews responding to the attack had to pull back several times because of the risk of further strikes, returning whenever conditions allowed, the agency said.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia fired ballistic missiles from its Rostov and Voronezh regions and launched 167 attack drones overnight. The drones included Shahed-type aircraft, around half of them jet-powered, as well as Geran and decoy drones. Ukrainian air defences shot down or suppressed 128 of them, the Air Force said.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian attacks wounded three people, including a 14-year-old girl, in Russia's border region of Belgorod, local officials said. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 53 Ukrainian drones overnight. As both sides reported fresh attacks, the planned US visit is being watched for whether it can restart peace efforts.

With PTI Inputs

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