KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone attacked the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in central kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, ahead of diplomatic talks with U.S. officials to end the war. The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches into five years since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Recently, Russia has been using drones powered by fast-flying aircraft, and the recurring wail of air raid sirens has become part of daily life in kyiv. The headquarters of Ukraine’s security service, near the historic St. Sophia Cathedral and international hotels, is among the agencies carrying out strike operations deep inside Russian territory. Twelve people were injured in Friday’s attack, local authorities said. “The drone deliberately targeted the head of the SBU office in that building,” Zelenskyy said on Friday. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that acting security chief Oleksandr Poklad had informed him of a response, including possible targets. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called Friday’s drone attack a “major escalation” that came as potential peace talks were gaining momentum. “Moscow launched this attack during a renewed push for peace, exposing its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said in a post on X. American envoys are expected in Moscow and kyiv. President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and then kyiv over the weekend and early next week. The United States has not provided more specific dates for the stops. “They bring with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump said. This would be his first visit to kyiv. U.S. efforts to negotiate an agreement have not yet produced a path to peace. Zelenskyy said on Friday that he expected 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 in previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not Russia,” Zelenskyy said. Speaking to reporters on Friday, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm reports that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Moscow, saying only that the media would be informed if such a meeting took place. Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. Kushner and Witkoff last visited Moscow in January, where they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After that meeting, Russian presidential adviser Yury Ushakov described the talks as constructive, but said that “one cannot hope to reach a long-term agreement without resolving the territorial question.” a post on Telegram. The attacks damaged several residential buildings, including two multi-story blocks. Overnight strikes elsewhere in Ukraine killed two police officers in Dnipro, officials said, while a drone strike in kyiv injured three people after hitting a residential building. Russian forces have relentlessly attacked civilian areas. Previously, these attacks occurred mainly at night, but now they also occur during the day. The front line in eastern and southern Ukraine remains largely stagnant. Russian oil depots set on fire In Russia, a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby Sirius district, regional officials said on Friday. They said the attack caused a fire at an oil depot, but gave no further details. Russian media reported that two warehouses were hit, one in Sochi and another in Sirius. Ukraine has repeatedly attacked oil facilities that form the backbone of the economy of Russia, one of the world’s largest energy producers. Mounting economic pressure and public frustration have mounted in Russia after months of escalating Ukrainian attacks on refineries and e-commerce hubs that have caused disruption across the country. The bombings led Putin last month to decree that the state can temporarily take control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners do not protect them from Ukrainian drone strikes or rebuild them after the attacks. Analysts said the move was aimed at forcing companies to pay for their own safety and return damaged assets to service, despite the cost. Drone appears in Finland Finnish authorities said they were investigating how a Russian-made drone ended up on a rocky coast in the Pellinge archipelago, east of Helsinki. The Finnish Border Guard said what appears to be a Geoscan 701 drone, made by a Russian company, was found on the coast. “The device model in question is used by both state and civilian operators, and at this time it is not possible to determine its intended use or identify the country or entity that operates it,” the Border Guard said in a statement. State broadcaster Yle reported that the drone was discovered on Tuesday by a fisherman. Geoscan describes itself as one of Russia’s leading drone manufacturers and says the 701 model is designed for large-scale aerial reconnaissance. Associated Press writers Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. ___Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
