A Russian drone strike hit the central headquarters of Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency in Kyiv on Friday, sending plumes of black smoke over the city center and injuring at least nine people, according to Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has instructed the SBU to deliver an “appropriate, tangible response” to the attack, while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described it as a “major escalation.”
Drone strike targets SBU headquarters near St Sophia Cathedral
The attack occurred on Volodymyrska Street, directly opposite the St Sophia Cathedral, a Unesco world heritage site. “Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St Sophia Cathedral,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. “The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building.”
Streets around the SBU headquarters were cordoned off shortly after the strike, with armed officers patrolling the area. Numerous ambulances and emergency services vehicles were stationed around the site. The explosion could be heard several blocks away, and witnesses reported shattered windows and shockwaves felt in nearby buildings.
Kyiv under sustained attack amid Patriot missile shortage
Kyiv has been under a barrage of daily drone and missile attacks from Russia for over a week. The country is facing a critical shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors, which are capable of shooting down incoming threats. Many of the recent Russian strikes have been by new-model jet-powered drones that can reach speeds of 250mph, making them difficult to intercept.
It is rare for government buildings in central Kyiv to be reached by Russian strikes, especially in broad daylight. The incident is likely to intensify the escalating attacks that Moscow and Kyiv have been launching at each other in recent weeks, as both sides seek to destroy each other's resilience and morale.
Local witnesses describe impact and fear of double-tap attacks
Stanislav Zavertailo, co-owner of the nearby Zavertailo cafe, said one of his customers was injured in the strike, which sent shockwaves through his premises, shattering all the windows. “It's a normal cafe,” he said. The customer was “eating one of our famous poppy seed rolls” when the attack occurred, he added. Staff and customers rushed into an underground shelter after the strike, fearing a double-tap attack, a tactic Russia has employed, in which a second drone is sent soon after the first, hitting emergency service workers.
An hour later, there had been no second strike, but Zavertailo said he did not feel at ease. “We are all waiting for another attack,” he said. A Zavertailo cafe employee who had recently emerged from the underground shelter described the hit as “awful,” adding, “as a person who lives in Ukraine for all this time, it's just hard.”
Escalation raises questions about Kyiv's defense capabilities
The SBU is responsible for co-ordinating complex operations against Russia, including last year's Operation Spiderweb, which destroyed billions of dollars of aircraft inside Russia. Sybiha called on international partners to “unequivocally condemn these actions and step up pressure on the Putin regime.”
The strike came two days before Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to visit Kyiv for the first time. US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled in recent months as the US has shifted its focus towards the war with Iran.
