A Russian drone strike has been reported near Kyiv’s airport, shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are scheduled to visit Ukraine.
According to reports, the strike hit the Zhulyany airport area, where two older Soviet-era Yak-40 aircraft were reportedly damaged. Ukrainian MP Oleksii Honcharenko said the planes had not been in use since before the war began.
The attack comes at a sensitive diplomatic moment, as Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Kyiv following their visit to Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that the two U.S. representatives are expected to arrive in the Ukrainian capital on September 6.
Honcharenko has raised the possibility that the strike may have been an intentional signal from Moscow to Washington, coming just as the United States renews efforts to mediate a potential agreement to end the war.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has accused Russia of deliberately targeting Kyiv and Boryspil airports, linking the timing of the attacks to discussions over the possibility of the U.S. delegation traveling to Ukraine by plane.
Witkoff and Kushner have been tasked by Trump with pursuing renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war. The U.S. president has said the two are carrying a concrete peace proposal, although he has not disclosed its details.
The visit comes as airstrikes continue despite diplomatic efforts. Just one day earlier, a Russian drone also struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv.
