Russia launches missile, drone attack on Kyiv

Russia launched ballistic missiles and drones at Kyiv early on Tuesday, September 8, hours after U.S. peace envoys left the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukrainian officials and Reuters. The overnight attack killed two people and injured seven, the Kyiv City Military Administration said. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out across the city and people were trapped in a residential building. The strikes followed a three-day pause on attacks on Kyiv that Russia had announced during the visit by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. ### How large was the attack on Kyiv? Kyiv officials said Russia used a combined missile-and-drone barrage against the capital in the early hours of September 8. The Kyiv Independent, citing local authorities, reported explosions beginning around 3:30 a.m. local time after Ukraine's Air Force warned that ballistic missiles and jet-powered strike drones were heading toward the city. Monitoring channels cited by the outlet reported at least 12 ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv over about an hour. (usnews.com) Reuters reported that the attack began shortly after the departure of U.S. peace negotiators from Kyiv. Klitschko said on Telegram that Russian ballistic missile strikes caused fires across the city and left people trapped in a residential building. ### Where were people killed and injured? The Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed and seven injured in the attack. (kyivindependent.com) Reuters initially reported six injuries, citing Klitschko, while later local updates carried by Kyiv-based outlets put the toll at seven. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said rescuers evacuated two people from a damaged 16-story apartment building and pulled another 10 people from a five-story building where they had been trapped during the strike, according to the Kyiv Independent's account of emergency service statements. (usnews.com) Three of the injured were hospitalized, local officials said. ### What damage did the strikes cause across the city? Kyiv authorities said at least two multistory residential buildings were damaged. The Kyiv Independent reported fires in warehouses, damage to garages and vehicles, and strike damage to a school. Klitschko said fires were reported in multiple parts of the capital after the missile strikes. (kyivindependent.com) Reuters described the attack as a resumption of Russian airstrikes on Kyiv after the temporary halt during the U.S. visit. ### Why does the timing around the U.S. envoys matter? The Kremlin said on September 5 that President Vladimir Putin had ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv while U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pursued talks aimed at reviving efforts to end the war, according to the Associated Press report carried by ABC News. (kyivindependent.com) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the halt was tied to preparations for the envoys' visit to Kyiv. (usnews.com) The September 8 attack came after that pause expired. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters and AFP, reported that the strikes followed the end of the three-day halt and came after the visit yielded no publicly announced breakthrough toward peace. ### Had Kyiv already been under heavy attack before this pause? President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 5 that Russia had deliberately targeted airports in Kyiv and Boryspil ahead of the U.S. envoys' visit, according to the Kyiv Independent. (abcnews.com) That report said Zelensky described the strikes as a response to discussions about the possibility that the envoys could arrive in Ukraine by plane. (aljazeera.com) Al Jazeera reported that a separate Russian missile-and-drone barrage on September 1 killed at least 12 people in Kyiv and the surrounding region. That earlier attack underscored the scale of recent strikes on the capital before the brief pause announced by Moscow. ### What comes next in the immediate aftermath? September 8 rescue work was continuing at damaged residential buildings as emergency crews searched affected sites and updated casualty figures, according to Ukrainian officials cited by local media. (kyivindependent.com) Kyiv city authorities and Ukraine's State Emergency Service were still assessing damage across the capital later in the day. (aljazeera.com) U.S. officials have not yet publicly announced the next step in the peace effort described during Witkoff and Kushner's visit. Reuters, in the report carried by U.S. News, said a White House official had told the news agency that next steps would be announced in the coming weeks. (msn.com) (kyivindependent.com)