Russia carried out targeted strikes on the airports in Kiev and Boryspil on Saturday night in response to the discussed possibility of the US delegation of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arriving in Ukraine by plane, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, quoted by the BBC.
According to him, Russian forces attacked the two airports "demonstratively" and for the first time in a long time they have purposefully chosen them as their targets.
"It is obvious that such Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussion and preparation of the possibilities of the American side using a plane to arrive in Ukraine and land at the "Kiev" airport or "Borispol", Zelensky wrote on social networks.
He described the attack as Moscow's response to Washington's diplomatic efforts.
"Russian-Iranian "Shahed" in response to American diplomacy. We noted this Russian step and next week we will accordingly adjust our operation in relation to Russian airspace, which has become dangerous due to the presence of drones and missiles in the sky," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky added that from the Ukrainian side "there are and will be no threats to diplomacy".
The statement comes just before the expected visit to Kiev of US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The two arrived in Moscow on Saturday for another round of talks with the Russian side on the possibilities of ending the war, after which they are expected to continue their diplomatic mission in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Zelensky warned that Russian airspace could cease to be safe for civil aviation due to the Ukrainian strikes. However, on the eve of the mission of Witkoff and Kushner, he announced a temporary restriction on Ukrainian air operations against Russia in order not to put the American delegation at risk.
"We take care of them, not Russia", Zelensky said, calling on Moscow to also refrain from air strikes during the trip of the American representatives.
The Ukrainian president stressed that the restriction concerns the period necessary for the safe movement of the American delegation and warned that Kiev would react if Russia uses the diplomatic mission to carry out new strikes.