Russian attacks at night hit Kiev airports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 5, amid US special envoys preparing to go to the area to discuss plans to end the conflict that has lasted for more than 4 years.
US President Donald Trump announced on September 4 that he sent Mr. Steve Witkoff and Mr. Jared Kushner (US special envoys) to Moscow and Kiev, Washington's latest effort to break the diplomatic deadlock in Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II. On the afternoon of September 5 (Vietnam time), AFP reported that US special envoys had arrived in Moscow, Russia.
According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, Russia attacked a target in the Dnipro region at night, and also attacked two Kiev airports.
Mr. Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the military agency of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said that Russia's attack caused heavy damage in the city of Kamianske in the Southeast.
This is the first time Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Trump's business friend, and Mr. Kushner, the US President's son-in-law, have set foot in Kiev since Mr. Trump returned to the White House last year with a commitment to resolve the conflict.
New diplomatic efforts took place as Russia and Ukraine continuously attacked each other with missiles and long-range drones. Just hours before Mr. Trump's announcement, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) in central Kiev, according to Mr. Zelensky. The attack targeting the agency's leadership office was the first attack on the SBU headquarters since the beginning of the campaign.
The Ukrainian President previously proposed a ceasefire with Russia during the time US special envoys were present.
Previously, Mr. Zelensky declared that Russian airspace would be "completely unsafe" and flooded with Ukrainian drones as long as Moscow continued the conflict. He said Ukraine would "adjust" air operations to ensure "no threat to diplomacy from our side".
