Russia launched its most extensive air attack of the war on Ukraine overnight, striking the main government building in central Kyiv and killing at least two people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
The drone and missile barrage, which President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned as a “deliberate crime,” also caused widespread destruction across the country. Explosions were reported in the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Thick smoke billowed from the top floor of the government headquarters in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district just after sunrise, witnesses said, while residents in nearby neighborhoods gathered outside damaged apartment blocks as rescue teams fought fires.
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles in the assault — the largest drone barrage since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Air defences intercepted 751 drones and four missiles, but debris caused extensive damage in the capital.
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, confirmed that the body of an infant was recovered from the rubble of a residential building in the Darnytskyi district, where a young woman was also killed. The interior ministry reported more than 20 people injured in the city, including a pregnant woman. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko added that several residential towers in the Sviatoshynskyi district were destroyed or set ablaze by falling drone fragments, while an elderly woman died in a bomb shelter during the prolonged attack.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said it was the first time that the government headquarters had been directly targeted during the conflict. She called on Western allies to provide more air defence systems and advanced weapons. “We will rebuild the buildings,” she said. “But lost lives cannot be brought back. The enemy terrorises and kills our people every day.”
Russia’s defence ministry claimed the strikes targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities and transport infrastructure, though both sides deny deliberately aiming at civilians. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, said they launched retaliatory strikes on Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline in the Bryansk region, inflicting “comprehensive fire damage.” The attack is part of Kyiv’s broader strategy to hit Russian energy infrastructure, a key source of funding for Moscow’s war effort.
The escalation comes amid increasing pessimism about prospects for peace. Zelensky renewed his calls for stronger international support, warning that the prolonged war benefits only Moscow. U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced frustration with Russia since meeting President Vladimir Putin last month, but has so far stopped short of imposing tougher sanctions. Kyiv’s European partners have pledged ongoing political and military backing, though discussions over deeper commitments — including the possibility of troops — remain unresolved.
