Russia hits HQ of Ukraine's security services in daylight attack
A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security services in Kyiv on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, accusing Moscow of aiming directly at the SBU head's personal office.
Zelensky said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an "appropriate, tangible response" while Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga called it a "major escalation".
Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes in recent months.
US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Moscow and Kyiv this weekend for peace talks, according to Ukrainian officials, amid flaring tensions between the warring sides.
"Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
"The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the security service in that building," he added.
It was the first time the powerful security agency's headquarters had been hit since the start of Russia's invasion in 2022.
The acting head of the SBU, Oleksandr Poklad, was not there, a senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Russia did not immediately comment.
An image published by the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet showed what appeared to be black smoke pouring from at least two windows on the front of the SBU building, while a fire engine was parked outside.
An AFP reporter saw several ambulances nearby.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 12 people had been wounded, without giving details on whether the casualties were in the SBU building.
Poklad was unharmed, the SBU said in a statement, adding that the building would "certainly be restored".
Attacks on government buildings in central Kyiv -- which are heavily fortified and ring-fenced by security barricades -- are rare.
- Witkoff and Kushner -
The strike came ahead of an expected visit to Moscow and Kyiv by US envoys Witkoff and Kushner -- US President Donald Trump's lead negotiators on ending the Ukraine war.
The pair have visited Moscow on several occasions, but have not yet travelled to Kyiv.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP they would visit Kyiv on Sunday.
The timing of their visit to Moscow was not immediately clear and the Kremlin declined to comment when asked about it.
Zelensky proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia for the duration of their trips.
"There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire -- without its own airstrikes -- for the duration needed to conduct these talks," he said in his evening address.
There was no immediate comment from Russia to the proposal.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled in recent months as the United States has shifted its focus towards the war with Iran.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe's worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops.
(L.Barsayjeva--DTZ)
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