Ukraine’s main government building in central Kyiv was struck for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, officials said, marking a dramatic escalation in Moscow’s bombardment of the capital.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that the Cabinet of Ministers building sustained damage to its roof and upper floors “due to an enemy attack,” with firefighters working through the morning to put out the blaze.
Local authorities reported that at least two people, including a one-year-old child, were killed in the overnight barrage, and more than a dozen others were injured. Several residential buildings across Kyiv were also damaged as Russian missiles and drones rained down on the capital.
The government complex, which houses the offices of Ukraine’s ministers, had until now avoided direct strikes during the nearly three-year-old war. Kyiv officials said multi-story apartment blocks in the western Svyatoshynkyi and south-eastern Darnytskyi districts were partially destroyed and still ablaze after direct hits.
“The Russians are deliberately hitting civilian facilities,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, urging residents to remain in shelters.
Explosions were heard across Kyiv, including at least one blast in the city center witnessed by the BBC. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko later confirmed that a government building in the Pecherskyi district was on fire, suggesting a downed Russian drone may have caused the blaze. “Firefighters are working on the scene,” he said.
The attacks were not limited to Kyiv. In Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown in central Ukraine, Russian strikes hit three infrastructure facilities. Air raid sirens sounded in every Ukrainian region overnight as cruise missiles and drones targeted multiple cities.
Russia has not commented on the strike in Kyiv but said its air defense systems intercepted or shot down 69 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
The escalation comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has sharpened his rhetoric against Western military support for Ukraine. Earlier this week, he rejected Western proposals for a “reassurance force” to enter Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire, following a Paris summit aimed at securing Kyiv’s long-term defense. French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 allied nations had committed to providing troops “by land, sea or air” once the fighting halts, though details remain unclear.
Putin dismissed the initiative, warning that any foreign troops sent to Ukraine would be treated as “legitimate targets.”
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently occupies roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.