KIEV
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that a Russian drone struck the central building of the country’s Security Service (SBU) in the capital, Kyiv.
In a statement on US social media company X, Zelenskyy said he spoke with acting SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad amid the incident and that all emergency services were at the scene and all those affected would receive the necessary assistance.
“The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building. I instructed Poklad to deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready. Our military will support this response,” Zelenskyy said.
Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the incident as a “major escalation that demands resolute responses,” saying it also came amid attempts to revive stalled Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
“Located nearby, the UNESCO World Heritage Site — St. Sophia Cathedral — was also placed at risk,” Sybiha went on to say, calling on Ukraine’s international partners to “unequivocally condemn these actions” and increase pressure on Moscow.
Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that a fire broke out in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district after a drone crashed onto the roof of a non-residential building.
Klitschko later added that nine people were known to have been injured in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, seven of whom had been hospitalized.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the incident.
