In brief
Zelensky announced a Russian drone hit the SBU headquarters in Kyiv. The drone targeted the office of security chief Oleksandr Poklad. Ukrainian officials described fires and smoke, five injured, calls for retaliation. Russia also attacked a cargo vessel. U.S. mediators will visit Moscow & Kyiv to try to broker peace amid escalating air raids.
A Russian drone struck the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the heart of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Telegram. The unmanned aircraft crashed into the building, aiming at the office of head of security, Oleksandr Poklad.
The strike produced black smoke pouring from two windows; firefighters rushed to extinguish the fires. Five people were reported injured, including an employee and a café patron near the site.
Zelensky called on the SBU chief to reply with an appropriate and tangible response, while U.S. mediators will head to Moscow on Saturday and to Kyiv on Sunday to pursue a peace settlement.
The attack marks one of the few successful strikes on a Ukrainian government building amid ongoing Russian air raids. Earlier in the week Russia hit a cargo vessel in Chornomorsk and a tanker near Odesa.
The incident underscores a new surge in precision drone strikes, with Moscow potentially stepping up before any U.S. diplomacy takes hold.
