Kyiv Under Fire as Diplomacy Presses On

Russia hit Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight into September 8, killing two and wounding seven as homes and a school were damaged, the deadliest strike of a violent morning. Hours later Russian forces struck passenger trains three times before noon: a suburban diesel train in Sumy region left passengers hurt, and a precision hit on the Dnipro-Zaporizhzhia train set a carriage ablaze, with one conductor who ran back in against evacuation orders still unreachable. A separate strike on Kyiv partially destroyed the newsroom of TV channels My Ukraine and My Ukraine+ while they broadcast live, injuring five. Against that backdrop, diplomacy pulled in opposite directions. Kremlin spokesman Peskov claimed Russia is close to victory and said the war could have ended had Kyiv accepted Moscow's terms. Zelensky countered by confirming another visit from Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner, and said he expects to meet Trump himself in late September, likely around the UN General Assembly, to discuss ballistic weapons and an anti-missile system called FREYJA. Pressure on Moscow built elsewhere too. Hungary, long one of Russia's closest partners in the EU and NATO, announced it is expelling ten Russian diplomats, while Ukraine's military intelligence published a list of 155 Rostec-linked defense firms making weapons parts, noting nearly half face no Western sanctions at all.