World News
The air war resumes after the envoys leave Kyiv, and Putin tells Trump that Russia has no aggressive plans against Europe
By Staff Writer | 9 September 2026
Five people died and 35 were hurt in Kyiv in an overnight attack that ended the weekend pause for the American visitors. The Kremlin says the two presidents spoke for exactly an hour and assessed the envoys' trips as positive. Ukraine asked its partners for 300 Patriot missiles from existing stocks and the Commission released 3.2 billion euros to buy more.
The pause in strikes on Moscow and Kyiv that held during the visits of the United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ended on Tuesday morning. Kyiv's State Emergency Service said five people were killed and 35 injured in the capital in the overnight attack, and that its crews had to take shelter while the threat continued, which slowed the firefighting. Two more people were killed and three injured in the Kyiv region. The Interior Minister, Ivan Vyhivskyi, said explosions were heard for nearly five hours and more than 50 sites were damaged, including homes, schools and petrol stations. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had struck Ukrainian military-industry facilities and listed drone and missile stores and logistics centres in and around Kyiv as its targets. Russian officials reported three people killed and 13 wounded in areas Russia controls.
The telephone call
Later on Tuesday President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump spoke by telephone. The Kremlin's account, given by the presidential aide Yury Ushakov, is that the call lasted exactly one hour and that the two leaders assessed the envoys' trips to Moscow and Kyiv on 5 and 6 September as positive. Mr Ushakov said Mr Trump had conveyed the desirability of ending the conflict as soon as possible because of the prospects it would open for restoring relations between the two countries, that Mr Putin supported that approach, and that Russia had outlined what he called tangible actions the Americans could take to expedite a cessation of hostilities, without saying what they were.
Mr Ushakov said it had been stressed in the call that, in view of speculation about Russia's alleged hostile intentions towards European states, no aggressive plans against Europe had ever entered Russia's mind, and that the circulated myths of a Russian threat served as a pretext for Europeans to increase support for Ukraine and their own military spending. That is the Kremlin's statement. The German government last week attributed an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August to Russia, and Hungary expelled ten Russian diplomats on the day of the call. The two presidents agreed to continue work on prisoner exchanges and to speak again if needed.
Kyiv's account of the ideas
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the envoys had presented some good ideas and that he hoped to meet Mr Trump around 20 September, when the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York, where he intends to press for more Patriot air defence systems. The proposals will stay confidential for now, he said, and he hoped talks between delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in the autumn. Ukraine was ready to find a compromise on grain exports and energy, he said; both countries have attacked each other's grain shipping in the Black Sea.
As for the peace package that Kushner spoke about and the new ideas, I'll tell you frankly, there were indeed a couple of very good, worthwhile ideas
Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine
The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Russia was convinced victory was very close, while insisting that it wanted a peaceful solution and welcomed Mr Trump's efforts.
What Ukraine asked for
At the 36th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, held online on Tuesday, the Defence Minister, Yevhenii Khmara, asked partners for 300 Patriot interceptor missiles from their existing stocks, 500 air-to-air missiles able to counter cruise missiles, man-portable air defence systems and 2 billion dollars for drones. Ukraine is contracting for about 1,000 Patriot missiles, he said, but most will only arrive over the coming years, so he asked for missiles now against improved ones later. Of the 70 billion euros promised in Ankara for this year, 62 billion is being provided, against a defence deficit he put at 23 billion euros. The European Commission said the same day that member states had agreed a derogation allowing Ukraine to buy Patriot components with the next 3.2 billion euro disbursement of the Ukraine Support Loan, on top of 8.4 billion already paid out.
The support for Ukraine is not a subsidy. It is an investment. We are offering a mutually beneficial partnership
Yevhenii Khmara, Minister of Defence of Ukraine
The weekend produced a pause, a set of ideas nobody will describe and an hour-long call. Tuesday produced five funerals in Kyiv, a request for 300 missiles and a loan to buy the parts for more. Both are the state of the war.