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With U.S. Envoys Gone, Russian Bombs Fall Once More on Kyiv

Russia agreed not to bomb Ukraine’s capital during Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s visit there. The respite was short-lived.

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VideoRussia Strikes Kyiv After Trump Envoys Leave1:00

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Sept. 8, 2026

A brief pause in Russia’s campaign of nonstop attacks that allowed President Trump’s envoys to safely visit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, this weekend came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as Moscow resumed its bombardment.

The overnight barrage of drones and missiles killed three people and wounded at least 10 others, according to the mayor of Kyiv, shattering any lingering sense of safety from the trip by the envoys — Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law.

“The moment the U.S. president’s peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv,” Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, wrote on X on Tuesday, referring to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin. “His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy.”

Hours later, Mr. Putin spoke with Mr. Trump by phone, according to a Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy aide in the Kremlin who called the conversation “constructive and frank.”

He said that Mr. Trump “clearly emphasized the desirability of ending the conflict as quickly as possible, which would immediately open up impressive and large-scale prospects for the full restoration of relations between the U.S. and Russia.”

Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner visited Moscow and then Kyiv over the weekend in a bid to restart stalled peace talks. Ukraine first announced it would not attack Moscow during the envoys’ trip. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia then agreed Saturday not to attack Kyiv for three days.

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