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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in central Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, ahead of diplomatic talks with U.S. officials on ending the war.
The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches toward five years since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Russia recently has been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s security service headquarters, near the historic St. Sophia Cathedral and international hotels, is among the agencies carrying out deep strike operations inside Russian territory. Twelve people were wounded in Friday’s attack, local authorities said.
“The drone was deliberately targeted at the head of the SBU’s office in that building,” Zelenskyy said Friday.
Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that acting security chief Oleksandr Poklad had briefed him on a response, including possible targets.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called Friday’s drone strike a “major escalation” that came as potential peace talks were building momentum.
“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said in a post on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and then Kyiv over the weekend and into early next week. The U.S. has not provided more specific timing for the stops.
“They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump said.
This would be their first visit to Kyiv. U.S. efforts to negotiate a settlement have yet to produce a path to peace.
Zelenskyy said Friday that he was expecting Witkoff and Kushner to visit Kyiv on Sunday, after visiting Moscow. He said in a Telegram post that Ukraine will refrain from airstrikes during the negotiations and called on Russia to reciprocate to allow the talks to proceed safely.
“As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
Speaking with journalists Friday, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to confirm reports that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Moscow, saying only that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place.