Russian Attacks Kyiv Again After Three-Day Pause, Killing 2

International Desk, PNN

There has been no visible progress toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war even after two envoys of US President Donald Trump visited Moscow and Kyiv. Amid this situation, Russia launched another major aerial attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, after a three-day pause in attacks ended. At least two people were killed and another 10 injured, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Tuesday that Russia used 142 drones, 32 cruise missiles, of which 31 were intercepted, and two ballistic missiles in the attacks. It claimed that most of the drones and missiles were intercepted. However, it did not disclose the total number of ballistic missiles that were launched.

According to Kyiv Mayor Klitschko, Russian attacks caused damage in the capital’s Darnytskyi, Holosiivskyi, Podilskyi, Shevchenkivskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Ukraine’s emergency services said that, in addition to several buildings in Kyiv, drones also struck the Boryspil and Fastiv districts around the city.

Ukraine strongly condemned the Russian attacks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a major attack on Kyiv immediately after US President’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner completed their visits to Russia and Ukraine.

In a statement posted on social media, Sybiha said Russia’s ballistic missiles appeared to be sending a stronger message than its statements regarding diplomatic negotiations.

Earlier, Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s capitals for three days. The temporary pause came into effect as US envoys travelled to both countries for discussions on the possibility of ending the war.

Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported that the three-day suspension of attacks ordered by Putin for Russian forces ended on Monday evening local time.

Russia also came under attack from Ukraine. Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region, said Ukrainian drone attacks on Saratov, located nearly 1,000 kilometres away, damaged civilian infrastructure and injured several people.

In addition, at least one person was killed in a separate Ukrainian attack on the border city of Starodub in the Bryansk region, acting governor Yegor Kovalchuk said.

Meanwhile, Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed regional governor of Crimea, claimed that at least two people were killed and one injured in another Ukrainian attack on the peninsula.

Washington has recently stepped up efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump’s envoys, Witkoff and Kushner, travelled to Moscow and Kyiv and held discussions with officials concerned.

On September 5, they held a meeting lasting more than three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the meeting as highly effective.

The following day, the US envoys also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After the talks, Witkoff described the meeting as important and meaningful and said they were hopeful about maintaining the continuity of discussions.

He also spoke of the possibility of restarting trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States aimed at ending the war.

Despite various initiatives to end the war, which has continued for more than four years since Russia launched its full-scale military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, no lasting solution has yet been reached. A White House official told Reuters that the next steps regarding the war could be announced within the next few weeks.

However, the renewed attacks in Kyiv and other areas have once again created uncertainty over the future of peace negotiations.