In brief
A new missile strike on Kyiv left six people wounded, just hours after Russian officials announced they were ready to resume peace talks that had been paused in February. U.S. president Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with Vladimir Putin, suggesting a possible breakthrough. Despite the diplomatic flare, Ukraine’s military has complained that Russian strike frequencies and shortages of Western interceptors keep the front line tense. Russian talks indicate a push toward a security system for both sides, with an upcoming meeting slated for Abu Dhabi in early November. The U.S. faces growing domestic criticism over its handling of sanctions and intelligence sharing amid the conflict. With this back‑and‑forth, the future of the Ukraine war remains uncertain, but diplomatic engagement has flared just as hostilities intensify.
A missile strike on Kyiv on Wednesday night wounded six people, marking a new wave of Russian attacks that have surged as Moscow signals its willingness to resume stalled peace talks. The day after announcing it was "ready in principle" to reopen negotiations, the Kremlin also pledged that a new round could be held in Abu Dhabi in early November.
The diplomatic push was led by U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg and subsequently reported the talks as "constructive." Trump’s remarks that the world was "the closest we've been" to ending the war raised hopes, even as critics say the U.S. has yet to deliver a tangible breakthrough.
Ukraine’s civil defence and the mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, described the strike as part of a broader Russian campaign intended to offset the loss of Western‑supplied interceptors that had protected the capital. The attackers fired from a distance, but the deficit of missile‑defence systems has left the city vulnerable.
During the diplomatic meeting, Witkoff and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, as well as Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, discussed security guarantees and potential ceasefire frameworks. Russian aide Yuri Ushakov dismissed the proposals as "not very useful," though he acknowledged Russian forces claiming strategic initiative on the front line.
The talks arrived amid an ongoing flare‑up between the U.S. and Ukrainian governments. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Ukraine should see a new president and has been criticised for lifting sanctions that allowed Russian diesel shipments, despite recent legislation seeking to block Russian oil and gas trade.
Ukraine and its European allies condemned the move, accusing Washington of withholding vital intelligence to warn against ballistic missile launches that caused civilian casualties. In response, the U.S. Secretary of State and other officials have denied any intentional slowdown of satellite‑based communication services used by the Ukrainian military.
