Zelenskyy: Russian strikes kept Witkoff, Kushner from flying to Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Russian strikes had prevented U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner from flying to Kyiv. Despite Ukraine's airports being ready, Zelenskyy stated that Russian attacks made flying impossible. The U.S. delegation arrived in Kyiv by train instead. Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately targeting airports in Kyiv and Boryspil prior to Witkoff and Kushner's visit.

On September 4, an attack caused a fire at a nonresidential site in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district, with reports suggesting a Russian drone may have struck an aircraft at Zhulyany Airport. Witkoff and Kushner met Zelenskyy at St. Sophia Square upon their arrival on September 6. They were greeted at the train station by Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and his deputy Serhii Kyslytsia, as well as other officials.

Prior to their arrival in Ukraine, Witkoff and Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over three hours in Moscow on September 5. The Kremlin said the envoys presented Putin with ideas on ending the war, but Bloomberg reported that no progress was made, and the Kremlin reiterated its unwillingness to abandon its military objectives in Ukraine, despite Putin's confidence in his "military superiority" and the potential capture of more Ukrainian territory by the end of 2026.