Updated Nov. 29, 2025 / 9:34 PM EST / AP
Russian drone and missile strikes in and around Kyiv early Saturday killed at least three people as a Ukrainian delegation traveled to the United States to press a renewed push for peace. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that the delegation, led by national security chief Rustem Umerov, was headed to the U.S. to “swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war.”
A senior U.S. official told CBS News that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Ukrainian officials Sunday in Florida. The U.S. delegation is then expected to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the second half of next week.
Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed in strikes on the capital. Regional police reported a woman killed and eight people wounded in a combined missile and drone attack across the broader Kyiv region. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 people were wounded in the city, with falling debris from intercepted drones striking residential buildings, and that the western part of Kyiv lost power.
The developments come after U.S. President Donald Trump released a 28-point plan last week aimed at ending the nearly four-year war. The proposal was widely viewed as favoring Russia and prompted rapid engagement between Kyiv and American negotiators, while European leaders sought adjustments to address their concerns. Trump has said the plan was “fine-tuned” and announced he was sending envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet Ukrainian officials, indicating he might speak with both leaders if progress is made.
Zelenskyy on Friday announced the resignation of his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who had been Ukraine’s lead negotiator with the U.S., after anti-corruption investigators searched Yermak’s residence. The unprecedented search at the center of Ukraine’s government was seen as a political blow and a potential disruption to Kyiv’s negotiating strategy amid intense U.S. pressure to sign a peace deal.
In Russia, operations at a major oil terminal near Novorossiysk were halted Saturday after a strike by unmanned boats damaged one of three Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) mooring points. Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on Telegram that Ukrainian special forces targeted Russian energy infrastructure and destroyed one of the CPC’s berths.
An SBU official, speaking anonymously because of operational sensitivity, told The Associated Press that Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two oil tankers in the Black Sea believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evades sanctions. The tankers Kairos and Virat were struck late Friday, prompting rescue operations; crew members were reported safe. The SBU provided video it said showed the destruction of the two tankers.
“The SBU continues to take active steps to curtail Russia’s financial capabilities to wage war against Ukraine. Sea Baby naval drones disabled ships that could transport oil worth almost $70 million and helped the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions,” the official said.
Months of Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian refineries and terminals aim to reduce Moscow’s oil-export revenue used to finance the war. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple Ukraine’s power grid to deny civilians heat, light and water for a fourth consecutive winter — a tactic Ukrainian officials call the “weaponizing” of winter.
Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.