It was the most ferocious attack on the Ukrainian capital since the Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to yield a ceasefire.
A missile strike destroyed a building near the EU mission to Ukraine, sending a blast wave through the delegation and a tower where EU employees live, its ambassador said.
Staff were “shaken and horrified,” Ambassador Katarina Mathernová said, but there were no injuries.
“The war touched them directly last night. The war touched the European Union,” she posted on Facebook. “And no one will convince me that this was not Putin’s intention.”
The offices of the British Council and US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were also damaged. The British Council said it would close until further notice.
A Ukrainian drone manufacturer was listed online as having offices inside the building struck near the foreign facilities.
It was not immediately clear if that was the target, but even so, it suggested a potential major security lapse for a business directly involved in Ukraine’s war efforts.
The attack provoked condemnations from European leaders. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Putin, by killing children, was “sabotaging hopes for peace”. French President Emmanuel Macron described it as “terror and barbarism”.
Both the European Commission and Britain have summoned their Russian envoys.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she called Trump after the attack. She said: “Putin must come to the negotiating table” and vowed European security guarantees would “turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine”.
Even as the attacks continue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia remains interested in continuing the negotiation process in order to achieve the stated goals through political and diplomatic means”.
The strikes are part of an intensifying Russian offensive against Ukraine as Trump tries to end the conflict and Kyiv’s European partners debate security guarantees to protect Ukraine against future aggression by Moscow.
Russian forces, moving steadily forward along the front line, claim to have advanced into Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipro region for the first time - signalling that Putin might intend to fight until he achieves his full war aims.
In addition to regular aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities, including a strike last week on an American-run factory in western Ukraine, Russian forces have targeted the country’s gas and energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said. Long-range drones from Ukraine have struck Russian oil refineries in the past week.
Zelenskyy said the latest attacks proved that the international community should introduce tougher sanctions against Russia to force it to commit to a ceasefire.
Ukrainian and Western officials are hammering out a framework for security guarantees that they hope would accompany a peace plan to end the conflict.
But a peace deal still seems to be some distance away. Putin is pushing for territory Russia has not been able to gain by fighting and wants a say in Ukraine’s internal affairs - concessions Kyiv views as a capitulation. He has resisted a meeting with Zelenskyy.
Trump has sent mixed signals about his role in talks. Last weekend he signalled that he would take a step back from the process. But during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he threatened to unleash “economic war” on Russia if Putin didn’t meet Zelenskyy to resolve the conflict.
Today, Trump was “not happy” about the Russian assault, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “but he was also not surprised”. She noted the Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.
“These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” Leavitt said. “Perhaps, both sides of this war are not ready to end it themselves.”
Putin, having occupied and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He has not moved from his demands, which in addition to territory and influence include Ukraine’s demilitarisation and permanent bans on it joining Nato or the EU.
Zelenskyy has called repeatedly for a ceasefire and then negotiations.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
