Russia Strikes Kyiv Government Building in Largest Aerial Assault Yet

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, deploying over 800 drones and striking a government building in Kyiv for the first time since the onset of the conflict. The assault resulted in at least four fatalities, including an infant, and left at least 44 others injured, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Moscow’s forces deployed a total of 810 drones, four ballistic missiles, and nine cruise missiles. While many were intercepted, 54 drones and nine missiles managed to hit various targets across the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack as a “vile” act, asserting that the violence occurs despite opportunities for diplomacy. “Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have started a long time ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” he said on social media platform X.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko called the event a “massive attack,” stating that cities including Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, and Odesa were also targeted. The strike on the Cabinet of Ministers building caused significant damage, prompting rescue efforts to extinguish flames on the upper floors.

“We will rebuild the buildings. But the lives lost cannot be brought back,” Svyrydenko remarked. She further urged intensified international sanctions against Russia.

Information from emergency services revealed that rescuers discovered the body of an infant under the rubble in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi neighborhood. The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that a young woman lost her life in the same incident, highlighting the devastation inflicted upon residential areas.

Emergency reports indicated that a nine-floor apartment building in Sviatoshynskyi district was severely damaged, with four of its floors partially destroyed. In addition, two other multistory residential buildings in the same area caught fire.

In a show of solidarity, French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders condemned Russia’s actions, calling them a further indication of Moscow’s aggression. “By Ukraine’s side, we will continue to do everything to ensure that a just and lasting peace prevails,” Macron expressed.

The Ukrainian military also reported a retaliatory strike on two Russian energy facilities in Bryansk and Krasnodar regions, signaling ongoing military operations beyond Ukraine’s borders.

As the assault unfolded, Poland heightened its air defense readiness in response to potential threats stemming from the conflict, ensuring the safety of its airspace.