Ukraine war updates
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The gist
Explosions rocked Kyiv as Russia's three-day ceasefire ended, killing 2 people.
The truce's collapse leaves talks stalled and the war likely to run into winter.
Background
Russia held a three-day ceasefire that ended on September 8, 2026, with explosions and a missile attack hitting Kyiv and neighboring cities. The truce came amid a US diplomatic push: envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend, and Trump spoke by phone with Putin on Tuesday about ending the war. Talks have produced no announced breakthrough, and Zelenskyy said the war appears likely to continue into winter.
How it unfolded
- Sep 6, 2026Zelensky met Witkoff and Kushner in Kyiv and agreed on fundamental principles for ending the war, including security and economic guarantees for post-war Ukraine.
- Sep 6, 2026Putin met the US envoys and, per Russian aide Yuriy Ushakov, reasserted his commitment to reach all of Russia's war aims through military means.
- Sep 7, 2026Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned days after anti-corruption agencies raided his office.
- Sep 8, 2026Russia's three-day ceasefire ended as explosions and a missile attack rocked Kyiv and neighboring cities, killing 2 people.
- Sep 8, 2026Trump told Putin by phone he wanted a swift end to the war and restored US-Russia ties, the Kremlin said; Moscow said it expects trilateral talks with Kyiv and Washington to resume.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Moscow says it is ready for a peaceful resolution and expects trilateral talks with Kyiv and Washington to resume.
- Analysts
- ISW assesses that Putin's negotiating position has not changed since a US 28-point peace plan in November 2025, despite the war's trajectory shifting in Ukraine's favor.
- Official
- Zelenskyy said the war appears likely to continue into winter after talks with US envoys produced no announced breakthrough.
Still unverified
Russian officials have accused the US of drifting away from 'understandings' reached during the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska in August 2025; this is a Russian claim not confirmed by the US side.