Kyiv: Russian drone attacks and renewed diplomatic efforts unfolded side by side on Friday, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in central Kyiv ahead of talks with US officials on ending the war. The strike wounded nine people, local authorities said, as fighting between Russia and Ukraine continued to intensify.
The developments came as a US official said American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Moscow and then Kyiv over the weekend and into early next week. At the same time, fresh strikes were reported in different parts of Ukraine, while Russia said a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack had hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, causing a fire at an oil depot.
Zelenskyy said he had spoken with acting security chief Oleksandr Poklad after the strike on the security service headquarters, which is near St Sophia Cathedral and international hotels.
“The drone was deliberately targeted at the head of the SBU’s office in that building. I instructed Poklad to respond appropriately, significantly, and, if possible, in kind to the Russians for this attack,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike a “major escalation” and said it came at a time when possible peace talks were gaining momentum. “Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace – laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said in a post on X.
The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said Witkoff and Kushner would travel first to Moscow and then to Kyiv. Zelenskyy had said on Thursday that he was expecting US envoys in Kyiv in the coming days as part of renewed efforts to end the war.
In his nightly address on Thursday, Zelenskyy said preliminary dates had been set for meetings in both Moscow and Kyiv. “They confirmed they will have a meeting in Moscow and another one in Kyiv. We expect the latter to take place in the coming days. This is very important. It is important that America remain actively engaged,” he said, adding that Ukraine was ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.
The diplomatic moves coincided with what Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper described as a “massive” overnight Russian attack on the Odesa region. One person was killed and at least five others, including a child, were injured, he said.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, officials said overnight strikes killed two police officers in Dnipro, while a separate drone attack in Kyiv injured three people. In Russia, regional officials said a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit Sochi and Sirius, causing a fire at an oil depot.
