Russian attacks kill 3 in Ukraine as US envoys set for Kyiv visit

Russian strikes overnight killed at least three people in Ukraine, local officials said on Friday, even as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that American envoys are expected in Kyiv within days for renewed peace talks.

The attacks hit several regions. In the Odesa area, one person was killed and at least five others, including a child, were wounded after a "massive" overnight assault damaged residential buildings, including two multi-story blocks. In Dnipro, two police officers were killed in separate strikes. A drone attack on Kyiv injured three people after hitting a residential building.

The conflict, now in its fifth year, has seen an intensifying air war. Russian forces have increasingly struck civilian areas not only at night but also during the day. The front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine remain largely deadlocked.

Zelenskyy, in his nightly address on Thursday, 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," he said, adding that Ukraine is ready for substantive, high-level negotiations.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit Moscow first, then Kyiv on September 5-6, though this could not be independently verified. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm the reports, saying the media would be informed if such a meeting took place. US officials did not immediately confirm the visit.

Kushner and Witkoff last visited Moscow in January 2026, where they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That would be their first trip to Kyiv. After that meeting, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov described the talks as constructive but said a long-term settlement could not be expected without resolving the territorial issue.

However, momentum has stalled as Washington's attention has shifted to its conflict with Iran. Putin described negotiations as "frozen" during a news conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes continued against Russian infrastructure. A large-scale attack targeted the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, sparking a blaze at an oil depot, regional officials said. Russian media reported two depots were hit. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted oil facilities that underpin Russia's economy.

The escalating strikes have prompted Putin to decree that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure if private owners fail to protect it from drone attacks or do not rebuild after strikes. Analysts say the move aims to force companies to pay for their own security and restore damaged assets.

In Finland, authorities said they were investigating how a Russian-made drone ended up on a shoreline in the Pellinge archipelago east of Helsinki. The Border Guard said the device appears to be a Geoscan 701, a model used by both state and civilian operators. It was discovered Tuesday by a fisherman who said it appeared to have drifted ashore.