Russia resumes attacks on Kyiv after a three-day break

After ending a three-day lull in attacks due to the visit of senior US mediators to Kiev, Russia has resumed its attacks on the Ukrainian capital region.

Journalists from the AFP news agency heard several violent explosions in Kiev after an air alarm was raised. The military administration of the Ukrainian capital reported a rocket attack. The Kyiv Independent news portal wrote that, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, several people were buried under the rubble of a badly damaged apartment block.

The military administration had previously announced that the air alarm had been triggered in Kiev due to the danger of a drone attack by the “enemy”. She urged residents to seek shelter. According to the authorities, buildings were hit in both Kiev and Boryspil, east of Kiev, as well as in the town of Fastiv, around 70 kilometers to the southwest.

Wittkoff and Kushner in Modskau and Kiev

The Russian state news agency Tass had previously confirmed that the pause in attacks ordered by Russian head of state Vladimir Putin had expired. Putin had previously ordered attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev to stop for three days. This decision is related to the "preparation and establishment of contacts" with the US delegation expected in Kiev, the Tass news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday.

At the weekend, the two US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia and, for the first time, to Ukraine to present new proposals to both sides for ending the conflict. US President Donald Trump's two special envoys met with Russian President Putin in Moscow on Saturday and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev the next day. They also briefed the representatives of Germany, France and Great Britain who were present in Kyiv.

Possibility of trilateral peace talks

Witkoff described the talks in Moscow and Kiev about ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine as successful on Monday. He also raised the possibility of new trilateral peace talks.

Russia also reported attacks on its own territory. Several people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Saratov on the Volga, regional governor Roman Busargin said on the Telegram messenger service. The Saratov region is home to a large oil refinery owned by the state oil company Rosneft as well as other industrial and military facilities.