A massive Russian missile and drone barrage struck Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least 18 people — including four children — and injuring dozens more, Ukrainian officials said. It was one of the deadliest assaults on the capital in months, with damage reported across all 10 districts of the city.
Buildings housing the European Union mission and the British Council were among the sites hit. Missiles landed within 50 meters of the EU delegation, causing severe damage, while the British Council’s Kyiv offices were also heavily damaged and closed indefinitely. No staff members at either institution were harmed.
Russia launched more than 598 drones and 31 missiles in the overnight attack, Ukrainian authorities reported. Air defenses intercepted the majority, but several still found their targets, striking residential buildings, a kindergarten, a shopping mall, and media offices. The strikes caused widespread destruction and blackouts across the capital, Europe’s seventh-most populous city.
European leaders condemned the attack as a direct strike on diplomacy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack as a stark reminder of what’s at stake, pledging new sanctions and renewed work on frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other leaders denounced the strike, calling it senseless and a hostile blow to peace efforts, long sought by U.S. President Donald Trump. Likewise, French President Emmanuel Macron described the assault as “terror and barbarism.”
As The Independent reports, the scale of the aerial bombardment prompted the U.K. to summon the Russian ambassador in London:
It is the first major attack by Moscow on Kyiv since Vladimir Putin met with US president Donald Trump in Alaska, though the Russian leader has since stalled any efforts to kickstart peace talks.
A spokesperson for the British Council said the office would be closed until further notice, adding: “While there may be some delays in our responses, our work with our Ukrainian partners in education and culture continues.”
Scott McDonald, the chief executive of the Council, said a guard was injured in the attack and was “shaken but stable”. The EU delegation building in the Ukrainian capital was also damaged in the attack.
Russia used a combination of decoy drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv‘s city administration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of mounting a deliberate assault on diplomacy and trying to derail peace initiatives. He urged the international community to impose tougher sanctions and speed up measures to further isolate Russia.
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It is waaaay past time for Putin to be gone.