Zelenskyy pledges safe airspace for Russia as US envoys head to Kyiv via Moscow
US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Kyiv on Sunday after a stop in Moscow, with Zelenskyy promising secure Russian airspace during their visit and urging Russia to halt strikes on Ukraine in turn. Meanwhile a Russian drone hit Ukraine's SBU headquarters in Kyiv, injuring at least nine people.
US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow before continuing to Kyiv on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. Ukraine's president pledged that Kyiv would ensure safe passage through Russian airspace during the pair's visit to Moscow, while calling on Russia to likewise pause its air strikes on Ukraine for the duration. Trump said he had "an idea for peace" and praised the two men — Kushner, his son-in-law, and Witkoff, a real estate figure — as great negotiators. The New York Times reported Washington had asked both sides to observe a ceasefire while the envoys are travelling.
Strike on SBU headquarters and other attacks
On Friday, a Russian drone struck directly at the Kyiv headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service, hitting the office of the agency's chief, Zelenskyy said. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported at least nine people injured. Zelenskyy vowed a "tangible response," while foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike a major escalation. Overnight, a large Russian assault on the Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five, including a child, damaging several multistorey residential buildings, regional head Oleh Kiper said. Separately, two police officers were killed in Dnipro, and a drone strike on a residential building in Kyiv wounded three people.
Airspace warnings and wider fallout
Air Tanzania became the first airline to suspend flights to Moscow, halting its Dar es Salaam route from Friday after Zelenskyy warned this week that Russian skies were unsafe due to Ukraine's retaliatory drone strikes. Vladimir Putin had claimed Thursday that Ukraine was threatening civilian aircraft, which Zelenskyy denied, saying Ukraine targets no civilian planes but that drone activity over Russia would be extensive. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike hit the resort city of Sochi and nearby Sirius, sparking fires at oil depots. Finnish authorities are investigating a Russian-made drone found on a shore near Helsinki. The WHO said a warehouse of medical supplies near Kyiv was hit, part of a pattern with at least 20 such strikes on humanitarian depots this year. In France, a vice-president of Marine Le Pen's party sparked controversy by saying his party would cut off support to Ukraine if it took power, drawing sharp criticism from rivals. The head of Russia's Memorial rights group warned of an expected crackdown after September's elections.
