Russian missile, drone strike kills at least 15 in Kyiv; EU, British offices damaged
Russia launched its deadliest strike on Kyiv in months, killing at least 15 people — including four children — and injuring more than 45, Ukrainian officials said. In Kyiv, the impact was immediate.
Residents described racing to basements as explosions shook their neighborhoods.
A five-story apartment building collapsed, a shopping center was destroyed and rescuers combed rubble for survivors. One man told CNN, “I looked up — the roof was gone, and the floors from the fourth to the first were completely destroyed,” adding that his wife was still missing.
Ukraine’s air force said Moscow launched 598 drones and 31 missiles, nine of them ballistic. Defenses intercepted 563 drones and 26 missiles, but 13 sites in Kyiv still sustained direct hits. The European Union’s mission offices, the British Council and Radio Liberty’s bureau were among the damaged buildings.
Leaders respond
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the assault as a “deliberate killing of civilians.” Officials in Kyiv said Russian strikes wounded at least ten children and accused Moscow of targeting residential areas.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack “another grim reminder of what is at stake.” She pledged to tighten sanctions and confirmed the EU’s delegation staff escaped injury despite damage to its offices. Separately, the EU’s top diplomat announced the bloc would summon the Russian envoy in Brussels.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the strike hit the British Council’s building and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing civilians and undermining peace efforts.
Wider context
The barrage came less than two weeks after President Donald Trump met Putin in Alaska for talks that produced no ceasefire. Russia has continued to reject Western security proposals while pushing forward militarily.
On Monday, Trump said he still hoped “to get the war done” but admitted the effort remained difficult. Ukrainian officials plan to meet Trump’s aides in New York this week to discuss possible security guarantees.
Diplomatic fallout
Russia’s foreign ministry has said any ceasefire must follow substantive negotiations over territory and security, a position that allows Moscow to keep pressing its offensive.
Zelenskyy urged stronger action from allies. He said it was “crucial now that the world responds firmly. Russia must stop this war it started and continues.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
