A 12-year-old boy has been killed in a Russian drone strike in central Ukraine, regional officials confirmed on Friday, 5 December 2025, as hostilities escalate alongside a discreet American diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year war.
Covert US Diplomacy and Kremlin Meetings
Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were scheduled to meet a Ukrainian delegation in Miami on Thursday. Confirmation of the talks is pending. This meeting follows earlier discussions between the US envoys and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, details of which have been closely guarded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that his country's representatives in Miami sought to hear from the American side about the substance of the Kremlin discussions. In a video address late Thursday, Zelenskyy accused Putin of seeking pretexts to prolong the war and pressure Ukraine, a sentiment echoed by European leaders backing Kyiv.
The latest diplomatic effort comes after previous attempts to break the deadlock failed. Officials have kept most details confidential, despite an earlier leak of Mr. Trump's 28-point peace plan.
Escalating Attacks on Both Sides
The fatal strike occurred in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region on Thursday night. The head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav Haivanenko, reported that a Russian drone destroyed a house, killing the boy and injuring two women. The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia launched 137 drones of various types overnight.
In response, Ukrainian forces conducted long-range drone attacks deep into Russian territory. A port in the Krasnodar region, near the Ukrainian border, was hit, sparking a fire and damaging infrastructure at the Temryuk sea port.
Ukrainian drones also struck the city of Syzran, approximately 800 kilometres east of the border. Mayor Sergei Volodchenkov confirmed the attack, while unconfirmed media reports indicated an oil refinery was hit. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its air defences intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and annexed Crimea overnight.
Diplomatic Tensions and European Concerns
As fighting intensified, diplomatic rhetoric also flared. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, accompanying Putin on a visit to India on Friday, criticised Europe's stance on the peace talks. He claimed European allies of Kyiv are "constantly putting forward demands that are unacceptable to Moscow" and are not helping Washington and Moscow reach a settlement.
This criticism underscores the wider concerns of Ukraine's European allies, who fear potential Russian aggression beyond Ukraine's borders and insist any prospective peace deal must include robust security guarantees for Kyiv.
The tragic death of the child in Dnipropetrovsk underscores the severe human cost of the ongoing conflict, which continues to claim lives even as behind-the-scenes diplomatic manoeuvres attempt to chart a path to peace.
