Updated Sep 5, 2026 – 7.18pm, first published at 1.25am 7.18PM – Sep 5, 2026Russia strikes Ukrainian airports, as Kushner and Witkoff arrive in MoscowRussia hit Ukraine’s airports in the capital Kyiv and the nearby town of Boryspil ahead of United States envoys’ visit, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. But Zelensky said that officials discussed the possibility of US peace negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner using a plane for their expected visit to Kyiv on Sunday.“Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport,” Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. “Russian-Iranian Shaheds (drones) in response to American diplomacy.”Meanwhile, ahead of talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US administration should take into account realities on the battleground, which he claimed was turning against Kyiv, into any settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “The key question is the extent to which the US administration is prepared to invest in finding a real solution to the current crisis, considering the realities on the ground,” Ryabkov told TASS, when asked to comment on possible visit to Moscow by the US envoys. 1 / 3