Russian Attacks Kill Five in Ukraine as US Envoys Travel to Moscow for Peace Talks

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PublishedSeptember 5, 2026, 11:42 AM UTC

A Ukrainian rescuer works to extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian air attack in the Odesa region, amid Russian's war on Ukraine [State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AFP]

At least five people have been killed and another five injured after a Russian attack struck Kamianske in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha, as United States envoys travelled to Moscow with a proposal aimed at ending the more than four-year war.

The attack came against the backdrop of reported preparations for a temporary ceasefire involving Ukrainian forces as US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner undertake a diplomatic mission between Moscow and Kyiv. The two envoys were expected in Moscow on Saturday before travelling to Ukraine on Sunday, carrying what has been described as a US proposal intended to break the continuing deadlock over the conflict.

The latest Russian strikes, however, underscored the difficulty of securing even a temporary halt in fighting. Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks continued overnight despite reports that Ukrainian forces had received instructions concerning a three-day break from combat operations.

Five Killed in Kamianske Strike

Governor Hanzha said the Russian attack on Kamianske killed five people and wounded five others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a civilian enterprise in the Dnipro region had been struck.

Zelenskyy also reported what he described as Russian strikes targeting airports in Kyiv and Boryspil during the night. According to the Ukrainian president, the attacks appeared to be connected to preparations for possible travel by the US delegation and the potential use of an aircraft to enter Ukraine through Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport.

“The Russians struck a civilian enterprise in Kamianske, in the Dnipro region,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday.

He also said the airport strikes had been noted by Ukrainian authorities and indicated that Ukraine would adjust its operations concerning Russian airspace in response.

The strikes were not confined to Dnipropetrovsk. Ukrainian authorities reported injuries in several other regions following overnight attacks.

In Odesa, three people were injured, including a 17-year-old boy, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. In Mykolaiv, a 17-year-old girl was injured after Russian drones struck a shopping centre.

Two women were also injured and taken to hospital in the Kyiv region following a Russian strike on a nine-storey residential building in Boryspil, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration.

Reported Ceasefire Fails to Halt Attacks

The reported temporary ceasefire involving Ukrainian forces was scheduled, according to Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, to begin at midnight on September 5 and continue until 23:59 on September 8.

People’s Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko said on Friday night that the military had confirmed receiving an order for a ceasefire.

“The military confirms that a ceasefire order has been received. The ceasefire is happening everywhere. On the ground, in the air, and at sea,” Honcharenko wrote on his Telegram channel.

However, subsequent Russian attacks meant that the situation on the battlefield did not develop into the complete pause suggested by the initial reports.

Interfax Ukraine reported that Russian strikes continued overnight. Ukraine’s Armed Forces subsequently clarified that they were not required to impose a temporary ceasefire along the front because Russia had not halted its attacks.

The development illustrates the difficulties surrounding efforts to establish even limited pauses in the fighting. While Ukrainian forces were reportedly given instructions regarding the temporary break, Russian military activity continued, leaving the proposed arrangement without the reciprocal halt in hostilities required for a broader ceasefire.

Nuclear Plant Repairs Get Local Pause

Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency said a local ceasefire had been brokered to facilitate repairs intended to restore external electricity supplies to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The Russian-controlled facility, which is located in Ukraine, has been without external power since August 20 and has been relying on emergency diesel generators to maintain cooling for its vital safety systems.

The local arrangement is aimed specifically at allowing repair work connected to the plant’s external power supply. The nuclear facility’s continued reliance on emergency generators has added urgency to efforts to restore a stable external electricity connection.

The IAEA-brokered pause is separate from the reported three-day ceasefire involving Ukrainian forces and highlights the different efforts underway to prevent military activity from creating further risks around critical infrastructure.

US Envoys Resume High-Level Diplomatic Push

Witkoff and Kushner’s trip comes as Washington attempts to advance negotiations aimed at bringing the conflict to an end.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, the two US envoys were scheduled to be in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday. The visit would mark their first trip to Russia since January.

Zelenskyy said the pair would then travel to Ukraine on Sunday, making it their first visit to the country since US President Donald Trump returned to power.

The diplomatic effort is taking place while Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to exchange long-range attacks, complicating attempts to establish conditions for meaningful negotiations.

Trump said on Friday that efforts to reach a peace agreement had remained difficult partly because of what he described as a personal conflict between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

“President Zelenskyy and President Putin truly hate each other,” Trump told reporters, adding that the hostility between the two leaders was obstructing progress towards a settlement.

The US administration is therefore attempting to move discussions forward while the fighting continues, with Witkoff and Kushner expected to engage Russian officials in Moscow before heading to Kyiv.

Russia Reports Ukrainian Drone Interceptions

While Ukraine reported continuing Russian attacks, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces had intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight.

The Russian ministry said several of the drones were detected over or heading towards the Moscow region. The claim was part of the latest exchange of long-range attacks between the two countries.

Ukraine has increasingly developed and deployed long-range drones capable of striking targets deep inside Russian territory. According to the supplied account, Ukrainian attacks have repeatedly focused on Russia’s oil sector as Kyiv seeks to put pressure on an important part of the Russian economy.

Ukraine has also targeted warehouses belonging to online retailers, with the broader strategy intended to bring some of the consequences of the war closer to the Russian population.

At the same time, Russia has continued launching missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, with civilian areas among those affected by the latest strikes.

Civilian Toll Remains a Major Concern

The latest casualties come amid a reported increase in civilian deaths in Ukraine in recent months. The supplied account attributes part of the increased danger to Russia’s use of jet-powered drones, which travel at roughly half the speed of a passenger aircraft and are more difficult to intercept than conventional propeller-powered drones.

The combination of long-range weapons, drone attacks and strikes on urban areas has continued to expose civilians to significant risks even as diplomatic efforts intensify.

The attack on Kamianske therefore came at a particularly sensitive moment, occurring just as US representatives were moving between the two countries in an effort to advance negotiations.

For Kyiv, the continuation of Russian attacks despite the reported temporary ceasefire instructions reinforces its argument that any meaningful pause in hostilities requires reciprocal action from Moscow. For Washington, the challenge is to translate renewed diplomatic engagement into an arrangement capable of surviving the continuing military confrontation.

The planned movement of Witkoff and Kushner from Moscow to Kyiv places the US delegation directly in the middle of those competing positions. Their discussions come as the war enters another phase in which battlefield attacks and diplomatic contacts are unfolding simultaneously.

With five people reported killed in Kamianske, additional injuries recorded across Odesa, Mykolaiv and the Kyiv region, and Russia reporting the interception of dozens of Ukrainian drones, the latest developments demonstrate that the diplomatic push is taking place against an active and dangerous battlefield.

The US delegation’s mission will now focus on whether discussions in Moscow and Kyiv can narrow the differences between the warring sides and create a viable path towards ending the conflict, while the immediate fighting continues to produce casualties and damage across Ukraine.