Russian drone strikes SBU headquarters, injuring at least 12
A Russian drone struck the Security Service of Ukraine's Kyiv headquarters on Friday, aimed at the office of acting chief Oleksandr Poklad. Kyiv's mayor put the injury toll at 5; the city's military administration later gave 12, with 7 hospitalized. Poklad was unhurt, the SBU said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has chosen how it will respond, calling the hit on a government building a rare, major escalation.
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A drone targets SBU chief Poklad's office in central Kyiv
The Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) headquarters, opposite St. Sophia's Cathedral in central Kyiv, was struck by a Russian drone on Friday afternoon. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack damaged a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district and put the number of people hurt at 5. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone had been aimed at the office used by SBU acting head Oleksandr Poklad, and the SBU later confirmed the office was the target but said Poklad was unhurt. The Kyiv City Military Administration gave a higher toll of 12 injured, 7 of them hospitalized. A nearby cafe was also damaged, with one customer taken to hospital.[1], [2]
Zelensky says Ukraine has chosen its response as Russia hits other targets
Zelensky said he had given Poklad the task of preparing a response that mirrors the strike, without saying whether Poklad had been in the building, and by Friday evening he said Ukraine had decided where it would respond, with only the timing left open. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the attack a major escalation that demands a resolute response. Russia's defence ministry said the same day it had struck a cargo vessel at the port of Chornomorsk and a tanker near Odesa. A presidential adviser, Serhii Beskrestnov, said on Facebook that the drone may have been guided in real time through a nearby mesh radio repeater with internet access, activated by a Russian agent within five kilometres of the target.[1], [2]
A rare hit on a government building unsettles central Kyiv
A direct hit on a government building is rare for Russia over more than four and a half years of full-scale war, and the strike landed in one of central Kyiv's busiest districts in the middle of the day. Alina Zamanova, an artist whose studio sits near the impact site, told the Kyiv Independent she had always felt safe in the area and had slept in her studio the night before; after the strike, she said her first instinct was to leave, though she acknowledged that moving would be difficult. Dmytro, a 43-year-old driving to a meeting when the drone hit, said he was not surprised such a building had been targeted, noting that Russia's newer jet-powered drones are harder to intercept than earlier piston-engined models.[1], [2]
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