US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are on their way to Kyiv for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The purpose of their trip is to try and revive efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. During their Moscow visit, Putin agreed to a three-day halt on strikes against Kyiv, from September 6-8, a decision tied to the envoys' visit. In response, Zelenskyy announced Ukraine's readiness to refrain from striking Moscow from Saturday through Monday.
Despite the temporary agreement regarding the capitals, fighting continued in other parts of Ukraine. Overnight strikes by Russia targeted Kyiv's Zhulyany and Boryspil airports on September 4-5, which Zelenskyy suggested were an attempt to disrupt the US envoys' travel plans. Elsewhere, Russian attacks killed five people at an industrial facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region and wounded two in the Kyiv region, where a residential building was partially destroyed. Russian forces also struck a shopping center in the Mykolaiv region, injuring two.
Ukraine, in turn, has intensified its long-range strikes on Russian facilities, including military sites, oil refineries, and e-commerce hubs, aiming to undermine Russia's war effort and economy. Ukrainian air defenses reported shooting down or suppressing 128 out of 167 Russian drones launched overnight. In Russia, Ukrainian attacks wounded three people in the Belgorod border region. The envoys' visit marks a renewed attempt by President Donald Trump to mediate an end to the conflict, although previous efforts by Witkoff and Kushner have not yielded significant progress.
