Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine as Moscow and Kyiv prepare for US envoys’ visit

Four workers were killed at an industrial facility in Ukraine’s southern Dnipropetrovsk region as Russian missiles struck overnight. Five others were wounded, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the local military administration.

Hanzha identified the dead as a locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. “A locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. People of peaceful professions. They were simply working their shift. They were doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives,” he said.

The attack came as Moscow and Kyiv awaited US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were expected to begin a new push to revive peace talks. Kushner is also US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected the pair in Kyiv on Sunday. Their last known visit to Moscow took place in January, when they met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. They have not visited Kyiv before.

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A locksmith, an electrician, a plumber and a machinist. People of peaceful professions. They were simply working their shift. They were doing their job when enemy missiles cut off their lives.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would halt air attacks during the visit and urged Moscow to do the same. But in a social media post, he said Russia had attacked Kyiv and Boryspil International Airports, calling the strikes a reaction to preparations for possible US air travel to Ukraine. He said Ukraine would adjust its operations regarding Russian airspace the following week, while adding that Kyiv posed no threat to diplomacy.

A separate strike wounded a 62-year-old man and damaged homes and an apartment building in Nikopol district. Two more people were wounded in the Kyiv region, where a fire partially destroyed a nine-story residential building in Boryspil district. Russian drones also damaged shops and started fires at a shopping center in Mykolaiv region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had struck two metallurgical plants, calling them major suppliers for Ukraine’s military production.

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Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine.