U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday in a renewed effort to broker an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The visit, reported by Russian state news outlets, comes as both Russia and Ukraine have intensified their aerial attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine would halt airstrikes during the envoys' trip and urged Moscow to reciprocate, though Russia did not publicly respond to the proposal. Washington's peace initiative has reportedly lost momentum in recent months, with U.S. attention largely focused on its conflict with Iran.
Witkoff and Kushner were met at the airport by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, according to Russia's state news agency Tass. The U.S. envoys' last known visit to Moscow was in January, when they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy indicated that he expected them to visit Kyiv on Sunday, although the envoys have not previously visited the Ukrainian capital.
The intensification of the air war occurs as ground forces have struggled to achieve significant progress along the 1,250-kilometer front line. Russia has recently deployed fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and air-raid sirens have become a regular occurrence in Kyiv.
On Friday, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv, an agency involved in deep-strike operations within Russia. This follows Ukrainian long-range strikes targeting Russian military facilities, oil refineries, and e-commerce hubs, aimed at undermining Russia's war effort and economy.
Zelenskyy suggested in a social media post that overnight strikes on Kyiv and Boryspil international airports were a reaction to the planned U.S. visit. "Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine," he said, adding that Ukraine would adjust its operations concerning Russian airspace in response.
Attacks in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region resulted in five fatalities and five injuries at an industrial facility, according to local military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. He identified the deceased as site employees. Separately, an attack on the Nikopol district wounded one man and damaged several homes and an apartment building.
Russia's Ministry of Defense stated it had targeted two metallurgical plants in the region, which it described as "major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine’s military production." In the Kyiv region, two people were wounded in an overnight Russian attack, with a fire sparked by a strike partially destroying a nine-story residential building in the Boryspil district. Russian forces also repeatedly struck a shopping center in the Mykolaiv region with drones, damaging retail premises and injuring a man and a teenager.
Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched ballistic missiles and deployed 167 attack drones overnight, including Shahed-type, Geran, and decoy drones. Ukrainian air defenses reportedly intercepted or suppressed 128 of the drones. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks in Russia's Belgorod region wounded three people, including a 14-year-old girl, according to local officials. Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed its forces shot down 53 Ukrainian drones overnight.