Russia attacks the main Ukrainian government headquarters in Kiev for the first time

BarcelonaFor the first time since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow's missiles directly hit the main Ukrainian government headquarters in Kiev, in the center of the capital, early Sunday morning, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko reported. "For the first time, the government building—its roof and upper floors—has been damaged by an enemy attack. Rescue teams are extinguishing the fire," she wrote on Facebook. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha warned that this "represents a serious escalation," and the mayor of the capital, Vitaly Klychko, specified that it was a drone attack, and that the projectile could have accidentally hit the building after being intercepted by defenses. However, the details of what actually happened are still being investigated.

Specifically, the damaged building is where Ukrainian ministers meet. It is located in the central Pechers'kyi district, an area that Russian forces rarely attack due to the concentration of air defenses. This morning in Kiev, a dense column of smoke could be seen rising from Maidan Square, in the heart of the capital.

Aside from the government headquarters, Russia also bombed other areas of the capital and other Ukrainian towns en masse tonight with more than 800 drones, a new record, according to emergency services and local authorities. Until now, the attack with the largest number of drones was in July. On that occasion, 740 were used. Some of the towns attacked have been Odessa and Zaporizhia in the south of the country, Krementshuk in the center, and Krivi Rih and Dnipropetrovsk in the east.

Ukrainian defenses managed to shoot down most of the drones, but 56-9 missiles hit 37 locations, according to the country's air force. For its part, Russia said its forces also had to intercept 69 Ukrainian drones on Saturday night that were attempting to attack nine regions of the country and the annexed Crimean peninsula.

"We will restore the buildings, but the lost lives cannot be recovered," lamented the Ukrainian prime minister. In Kiev, two people have died and twenty others have been injured, according to the count carried out by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The fatalities are a young mother and her baby, less than one year old, whose body was recovered from beneath the rubble of a nine-story residential building after a Russian shell hit, destroying four floors and causing a fire. The baby's father is in the hospital with serious injuries. "Russia is deliberately attacking civilian facilities," warned the head of Kiev's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, who recommended that the population seek protection in shelters.

Elsewhere in the country, two more deaths and twenty-four injuries have been reported in cities such as Odessa, Krivi Rih, and Dnipropetrovsk. The Krementxuk municipality was partially without power as a result of the attacks, according to its mayor, Vitali Maletski.

Reactions to the attack

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha called this Sunday for "strong" responses and increased air defenses from Western partners. "The most cynical thing is that these brutal attacks are happening when President Trump is doing everything possible to achieve peace. But instead of reciprocating these efforts and agreeing to a meeting of leaders, Putin is opting for terror," he declared. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the massive Russian attack this morning as a "conscious crime" aimed at "prolonging the war," and called on the United States to immediately impose new sanctions against the Kremlin and its European partners this week.

This week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in Paris the creation of a Coalition of Volunteers, which would bring together countries willing to deploy troops on the ground in Ukraine when a ceasefire is in place. It would be a peacekeeping mission that would support the Ukrainian army to deter Russia from attacking again. "Twenty-six countries have pledged to deploy troops in Ukraine as a guarantee force, or to be present on land, sea, or air," he stated on Friday. Putin, however, rejected the proposal and already warned that any foreign force deployed in Ukraine would be "a legitimate target."