Russia launched overnight strikes on airports in Kyiv and Boryspil ahead of a planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. Sharing the visuals of the aftermath, he linked the attacks to preparations for the American delegation’s possible arrival by aircraft.“There were also demonstrative Russian strikes on our airports overnight – in Kyiv and Boryspil. Deliberate, for the first time in a while,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.“Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport,” he added.The planned visit by Witkoff and Kushner, who is US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is aimed at reviving peace talks amid an escalation in aerial attacks between Russia and Ukraine.Zelenskyy had on Friday said Kyiv would halt air attacks during the US envoys’ visit and urged Moscow to do the same.“Just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no airstrikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit.”The latest Russian strikes killed four people and wounded five at a civilian industrial facility in Kamianske in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, local officials said. Residential buildings were also damaged in several regions, including Kherson, Boryspil and Kharkiv.In Sumy and Mykolaiv, Russian drones struck shopping malls. Ukraine’s state emergency services said a 72-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were wounded in the Mykolaiv attack.Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had struck two metallurgical plants in the Dnipropetrovsk region, describing them as major suppliers of metal products for Ukraine’s military production.Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched ballistic missiles from its Rostov and Voronezh regions and deployed 167 attack drones overnight. The drones included Shahed-type aircraft, around half of them jet-powered, along with Geran and decoy drones. Ukrainian air defences shot down or suppressed 128 drones, according to the Air Force.The air war has intensified as Russian and Ukrainian forces struggle to make significant progress along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line.Zelenskyy said Kyiv had taken note of the airport strikes and warned that Ukraine would adjust its operations in Russian airspace.“Russian-Iranian ‘shaheds’ in response to American diplomacy. We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky,” he said.“Of course, there are and will be no threats to diplomacy from our side. Ukraine is interested in bringing peace closer. Russia will be held accountable for what it does,” he added.
