KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — Russia unleashed the largest drone and missile barrage on Ukraine since the war began, striking Kyiv on Sunday in an assault that killed at least two civilians and left smoke billowing from the roof of a key government building.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 810 drones and decoys, along with 13 missiles of various types, in what officials described as the heaviest single-day air campaign since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told The Associated Press that the assault was unprecedented in scale. Ukrainian forces reported intercepting 747 drones and four missiles, though debris and direct strikes were recorded at more than 30 locations across the country.
In Kyiv, reporters saw plumes of smoke rising from the Cabinet of Ministers building, the seat of Ukraine’s government. Firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene as police sealed off surrounding streets.
“For the first time, the government building was damaged by an enemy attack, including the roof and upper floors,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. “We will restore the buildings, but lost lives cannot be returned. The world must respond not only with words, but with actions, by strengthening sanctions against Russian oil and gas.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed the appeal in an online statement, condemning the strikes as “a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war.” He urged the international community to reinforce sanctions and expedite delivery of air defense systems. “Every additional system saves civilians from these vile strikes,” he said. “The world can force the Kremlin criminals to stop killing; only political will is needed.”
The casualties in Kyiv included a mother and her 3-month-old child, who were pulled from the rubble by rescuers, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. At least 10 locations in the capital were damaged, including a nine-story apartment block in the Sviatoshynskyi district and a four-story residential building in Darnytskyi district.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the assault targeted “military-industrial infrastructure,” including drone production sites, airfields, air defense radar stations and troop positions. Ukraine has not confirmed those claims.
The strike marked the second massive bombardment of Kyiv in two weeks, signaling a renewed escalation as hopes for peace talks falter. European leaders recently pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to pursue negotiations, while 26 of Ukraine’s allies pledged to deploy a multinational “reassurance force” once the fighting ceases.
Zelenskyy has reiterated that he is prepared to meet Putin to negotiate a peace deal but has called on U.S. President Donald Trump and Western allies to apply maximum sanctions to pressure Moscow into ending the war.
The attack underscores the intensifying scale of Russia’s air campaign, which for the first time has visibly damaged one of Ukraine’s central government buildings, a symbolic escalation in a war that has already claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives.
