Russia-Ukraine Attacks: Kyiv and Moscow Targeted Ahead of US-Putin Meeting

MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks targeting their respective capitals early on Thursday, a day after peace talks concluded and shortly before US envoys arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy, welcomed US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at a Moscow airport ahead of their scheduled meeting with the Russian leader later in the day.

“Welcoming Steve and Jared to Moscow,” Dmitriev wrote on X, sharing a photograph of himself shaking hands with Witkoff near an aircraft, while Kushner stood alongside them.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a prisoner exchange during two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which concluded on Wednesday. However, US mediators said significant differences remained over key issues, including territorial arrangements. Kushner has also said European partners should be included in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had struck military and energy facilities in Ukraine, along with a munitions warehouse in Kyiv. Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital during the early hours of Thursday, according to a Reuters witness.

Attacks also damaged energy and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Rivne region, a local official said on Telegram.

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Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had intercepted five drones heading towards the capital. Local officials also reported drone interceptions in several other Russian regions, including Rostov and Tula.

Following their meeting in Moscow, the US negotiators plan to travel to Ireland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is scheduled to attend a gathering of European leaders there.