For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, a government building in central Kyiv has been struck by Russian missiles. Until now, this area of the capital — heavily defended and home to the parliament, presidential palace, and key ministries — had remained untouched. The attack, which took place early Sunday morning, has sent shockwaves through Ukraine, marking what many see as a symbolic and deeply unsettling escalation.
Helicopters were seen overhead dropping water to contain the blaze, while a thick cloud of smoke rose above the city. Journalists and civilians were kept away from the cordoned-off zone around the cabinet building. While no immediate casualties were reported at the site, Russia’s wider overnight assault on Ukraine left destruction and loss of life elsewhere in Kyiv and beyond.
In Kyiv’s Svyatoshynsky district, a 32-year-old woman and her two-month-old son were killed when their apartment block was hit. Ukrainian police said the strike also damaged nearby buildings, cars, and warehouses, injuring at least 16 people. Across the country, Russian missiles and drones struck Odesa, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as a “serious escalation,” noting that over 800 drones and missiles were launched overnight. He called for stronger international measures, including tougher sanctions on Russian oil and gas revenues and additional air defense support.
The strikes came as President Vladimir Putin continues to publicly claim readiness for peace, a stance Ukraine dismisses as insincere. Sybiha pointed out the “cynicism” of Russia intensifying attacks even as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for negotiations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine struck back with an overnight drone assault on a Russian oil pipeline facility in the Bryansk region, inflicting what Kyiv described as “complex fire damage” to infrastructure crucial for transporting oil from Belarusian refineries to Russia.
The escalation underscores the increasingly brutal nature of the conflict, with both sides intensifying strikes on strategic targets as hopes for meaningful diplomacy continue to fade.
