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| This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 7, 2025, shows a fire at the Ukrainian government building in Kyiv, following an overnight attack, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. — AFP |
Russia’s Largest Airstrike on Ukraine Hits Kyiv Government Building, Leaves Four Dead Including Infant
This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 7, 2025, shows a fire at the Ukrainian government building in Kyiv, following an overnight attack, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. — AFPRussia launched its largest air attack of the war on...Russia unleashed its largest air assault of the war on Ukraine overnight, setting Kyiv’s main government building ablaze and killing at least four people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials confirmed on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the massive drone and missile barrage struck across the country, hitting Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, and the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Calling the attack a deliberate crime and an unnecessary extension of the war, Zelenskiy renewed appeals for stronger air defence support from allies.
At sunrise, smoke billowed from the burning upper floors of the central government building in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district, a symbolically powerful strike on one of the city’s most protected areas. Residential buildings elsewhere in the capital were also hit, leaving residents wrapped in blankets as they stood outside their damaged homes while rescue crews battled flames. The strike deepened fears that the war, now stretching into its third year, has no near end in sight, with Russian President Vladimir Putin showing no interest in a ceasefire and growing more confident with support from China.
Despite mounting tensions, US President Donald Trump has stopped short of imposing tougher sanctions on Moscow, though he insists he is pursuing security guarantees for Ukraine. Kyiv’s European allies have promised continued backing, but discussions about military involvement, including possible troop deployments, remain unresolved. Zelenskiy said he coordinated next steps with French President Emmanuel Macron, emphasizing the urgency of united diplomatic efforts.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that this was the first time the government’s main building had been hit since the war began, describing it as a symbolic and devastating moment. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk also condemned the attack, stressing that attempts to appease Putin were meaningless. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight — the largest drone barrage since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Defence units managed to down 751 drones and four missiles, but the scale of the assault left widespread destruction.
Kyiv’s military administration reported that an infant and a young woman were killed when a four-storey apartment block was struck in the Darnytskyi district. More than 20 others were wounded across the capital, with prolonged air raid sirens lasting over 11 hours. In western Kyiv, several floors of a nine-storey building collapsed, while fires broke out in multiple residential complexes due to falling drone debris.
Ukrainian officials vowed retaliation, with Svyrydenko urging allies to step up military aid. Ukraine’s defence ministry confirmed that its forces struck the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia’s Bryansk region, a critical energy link that funds Moscow’s war effort. Explosions also rocked the central city of Kremenchuk, damaging a bridge and cutting power, while Russian strikes targeted infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih and sparked fires in residential areas of Odesa, wounding several civilians.