Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Sunday, striking Kyiv with a barrage of drones and missiles that set fire to the city’s government headquarters, killed at least five people including an infant and wounded 44 others, Ukrainian officials said.
The Ukrainian Defense Department reported the assault included more than 800 Shahed-type strike drones, nine Iskander-K cruise missiles and four Iskander-M ballistic missiles. The strikes damaged residential buildings and ignited the structure where the Cabinet of Ministers convenes, authorities said. Kyiv described the attack as the second mass drone-and-missile strike on the capital in as many weeks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for stronger measures against Russia, urging allies to bolster Kyiv’s air defenses and to punish President Vladimir Putin for the attacks. “Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” Zelensky wrote on X, and he appealed to the international community for political will to stop the assaults.
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram that more than 90 rescuers, over 160 police officers and more than 200 utility workers were operating at the site in the Svyatoshyn district. Ukrainian officials also reported casualties and damage in other cities struck overnight, including Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Odessa.
The strike on the central government building marked the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion that strikes have hit and damaged Kyiv’s government headquarters, a structure located close to President Zelensky’s office. Kyiv authorities said the attack damaged civilian apartments and infrastructure as rescue teams searched for survivors and treated the injured.
The assault comes days after a meeting in Paris of more than 30 countries discussing security guarantees for Ukraine, and less than a month after high-stakes talks in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Putin failed to secure a ceasefire. Trump has faced mounting calls from lawmakers and allies to impose tougher sanctions on Russia amid continued attacks. Trump has said he would impose sanctions if Mr. Putin does not agree to a ceasefire and has continued to express optimism about arranging talks between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said there was no meeting in the works between the two presidents. Speaking earlier in the week, Mr. Trump told CBS that he had been discussing the conflict with both leaders and that a meeting “is going to happen” though “they are not ready yet.”
At the Paris gathering, Ukrainian officials publicly acknowledged U.S. participation. United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attended the meeting, and Zelensky offered “special thanks” to Mr. Trump for efforts to end the war and for U.S. readiness to provide support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Moscow was stalling negotiations and said, “If Moscow doesn’t want to respect these conditions, we will have to take further steps with the U.S.”
The scale and targets of the Sunday attack are likely to intensify pressure on Western governments to step up defensive aid and consider additional punitive measures against Russia, Ukrainian officials and some allied leaders said. International responses were still developing as governments assessed the damage and casualties and explored steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.
Ukrainian emergency services and law enforcement continued operations on Monday to extinguish fires, clear rubble and treat the wounded, while investigations were under way into the full extent of damage to civilian and government facilities. The overnight strikes further strained diplomatic efforts to arrange negotiations and underscored the risks facing civilians and government institutions as the conflict enters another phase of intensified attacks.