KYIV: Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Ukraine overnight, setting the main government building on fire in central Kyiv and killing at least four people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday (Sep 7).
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone and missile barrage killed four people and caused damage across the north, south and east of the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, issuing a fresh appeal to allies to strengthen Ukrainian air defences.
Just after sunrise, thick smoke could be seen rising into the clear blue sky from the burning top floor of the main government building, located in the historic Pecherskyi district, Reuters witnesses said.
Elsewhere in Kyiv, residential apartments were hit and damaged, with dozens of residents wrapped in blankets gathering on the streets outside to survey the damage to their homes as rescue workers fought to extinguish the flames.
The attack underlined growing pessimism in Ukraine and among allies that the war can be ended any time soon, with Russian President Vladimir Putin resisting calls for a ceasefire and emboldened by strengthening relations with China.
United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia, the closest he has come to suggesting he is on the verge of ramping up sanctions against Moscow or its oil buyers over the war in Ukraine. He did not elaborate.
Until now, Trump, who met Putin last month, has resisted imposing tougher sanctions on Russia.
US Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Sunday that the Russian attack looks like an escalation in the conflict.
“The attack was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war,” Kellogg wrote on X.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that additional economic pressure by the United States and Europe could prompt Putin to enter peace talks with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, coordinating diplomatic efforts, next steps and contacts with partners.
Kyiv’s European allies have condemned the attack and vowed to stand by Ukraine politically and militarily, but concrete offers of assistance, including the possibility of troops on the ground, are still being discussed.
