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Kyiv Hit With 'Massive' Russian Air Strike As Ukrainian Leaders Press Global Diplomatic Efforts

By RFE/RL August 28, 2025

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was hit by a "massive" Russian air strike early on August 28, causing multiple deaths, while senior Ukrainian leaders were making a diplomatic dash to drum up support ahead of talks with US officials in New York later this week.

Authorities in Kyiv reported that the drone and missile strike killed at least four people and injured 24 at several sites in the capital, as air-raid sirens blared across Ukraine early on August 28, including in the west, far from the front lines.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, wrote on Telegram that "preliminary information indicates three dead, including a 14-year-old child. Rescue operations are under way in several locations" of the capital.

Tkachenko said the death toll is expected to rise.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote that a "massive attack on the capital" was under way and that a five-story building had collapsed. Emergency services were operating in the Darnytsky, Dniprovsky, and Shevchenkivsky districts, he said.

Journalists with AFP said explosions were heard in the capital and that about 100 people were seen taking cover in a subway station -- some lying in sleeping bags and others holding on to their pets.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he and chief delegate Rustem Umerov were in Riyadh on August 27 to meet with the Saudi defense minister and national security adviser.

Zelenskyy, speaking during his nightly video address, said the Ukrainian officials also visited Qatar on August 26 and will travel to Switzerland on August 28 before heading to New York for discussions with US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Ahead of the US meeting, Zelenskyy urged additional measures against Moscow to force it into peace talks to end the killings.

"Pressure must be applied. Russia must be forced into real steps. Russia must end the war it started and continues. There has to be an answer from them. They must be pressed to the right answer," he said.

"We all see the brazenly negative signals from Moscow regarding negotiations: The Russians are not going to fulfill what they promised the United States, what they promised others around the world who insist on stopping the killings and on real diplomacy."

"Everyone working on the substance of security guarantees will be involved [in the New York talks] -- the military, political, and economic component," Zelenskyy said.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy said that Turkey, the Gulf states, or European countries could play host to talks between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US President Donald Trump, along with Zelenskyy himself, has been pushing for direct talks between the leaders of the warring countries in an effort to strike a peace deal, but so far Putin has rejected such a meeting, often refusing to acknowledge Zelenskyy's legitimacy as president.

Many observers have said Putin is seeking to delay any serious negotiations because he believes his troops are winning on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses on both sides.

An Economic War?

On August 26, Trump again played down the likelihood of a quick meeting of Zelenskyy and Putin to end the killing, despite his pressure, and raised the possibility of new sanctions on Moscow.

Trump has threatened, but not yet imposed, economic measures against Moscow, although Washington and the West have slapped a series of crippling sanctions on Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"I want to see that [war] end," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's very, very serious what I have in mind, if I have to do it. But I want to see it end."

"We want to have an end. We have economic sanctions."

"It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war," Trump said. "An economic war is going to be bad, and it's going to be bad for Russia, and I don't want that."

Kremlin officials have said no preparations are under way for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy.

New Ukrainian Ambassador

Ahead of the New York meeting, Zelenskyy announced he signed a decree appointing Olha Stefanishyna, 39, as the new ambassador to the United States. She replaces Oksana Markarova, who has served for six years.

Stefanishyna, a former justice minster, played a key role in Ukraine's efforts to integrate into Western institutions. Zelenskyy nominated Stefanishyna last month and said she would serve as a special envoy to the United States until her candidacy as ambassador was approved in Washington.

Markarova angered members of Trump's Republican Party when she helped organize Zelenskyy's visit to an arms plant in the hometown of then-incumbent President Joe Biden before the US election.

It wasn't immediately clear if any embassy officials will participate in this week's meetings.

Ukraine's 'Card' To Play?

Separately, Ukraine on August 27 said it is looking to leverage the battlefield intelligence it has developed since Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022 to strengthen its position with allies as it seeks additional military assistance.

Mykhaylo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, told Reuters that "The data we have is priceless for any country."

"I think this is one of the 'cards', as our colleagues and partners say, to build win-win relations," Fedorov added - a reference to earlier remarks by Trump, who told Zelenskyy in a disastrous Oval Office meeting earlier this year that "you don't have the cards" in the war with Russia.

"The demand for the data is incredibly high, but at the moment we are forming policy how to organize this process correctly," Fedorov said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Servicre, Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-saudi-switzerland- russia-witkoff-ceasefire/33514806.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.