Russia resumes Kyiv missile and drone strikes after three-day pause for US peace envoys

Overnight bombardment on Kyiv

Russian missile and drone attacks struck Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions overnight on Tuesday, ending a three-day moratorium observed during a diplomatic visit by United States envoys. Authorities in the capital reported damage across at least five to six districts, including Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, Podilskyi, and Darnytskyi. In Holosiivskyi, strikes hit a 26-story non-residential building and ignited fires in adjacent structures, while emergency crews evacuated residents from a 16-story apartment building. In Solomianskyi, ten people were rescued from a damaged five-story residential building. Local administration assessments recorded damage to civilian infrastructure at 16 locations, including at least 14 high-rise buildings, a student dormitory, a school, and a clinic. Casualty counts reported by local officials stood at two deaths and between seven and ten injuries, though an initial report from Politico placed the death toll at 12.

National scope of the assault

The overnight barrage extended across Ukraine. Ukrainian defense systems shot down or suppressed two ballistic missiles, 31 cruise missiles, and 142 drones, while impacts were recorded in 29 locations nationwide. In the southern Odesa region, strikes hit an open market. In Kharkiv, two people sustained injuries after a multi-storey building was hit. In Sumy, an attack struck a passenger locomotive operating on the Kyiv-Sumy route at a railway station. Explosions and damage were also reported in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk. Across the border in Russia, regional governor Roman Busargin reported that Ukrainian drones struck buildings in the city of Saratov early Tuesday.

Expiration of the diplomatic truce

The resumption of strikes followed the expiration of a 72-hour bilateral pause on attacks targeting capital cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the moratorium on Saturday, 5 September, during a meeting at the Kremlin with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky subsequently ordered a reciprocal halt on strikes against Moscow. Witkoff and Kushner travelled to Kyiv on Sunday, 6 September, holding hours of closed-door discussions with Zelensky alongside national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The mutual moratorium concluded at midnight between Monday, 7 September, and Tuesday, 8 September. In anticipation of renewed strikes, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced adjustments to city curfews, modified transit regulations, and cancelled public events lacking dedicated bomb shelters.

Official reactions and diplomatic fallout

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the timing of the bombardment, stating that the strikes began immediately upon the departure of the American delegation.

The moment the U.S. president's peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv. His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its forces carried out a mass strike targeting Ukrainian drone and cruise missile manufacturing sites, storage depots, and transportation logistics hubs. Witkoff wrote on social media that the weekend tour yielded meaningful discussions aimed at arranging future trilateral negotiations. Zelensky indicated that discussions with the envoys included possible frameworks for winter de-escalation concerning strategic infrastructure such as energy, grain, electricity, oil, and gas, with follow-up meetings between Ukrainian, European, and American officials planned for the near future.