Russia fired its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine early Sunday, killing two people and setting the seat of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv ablaze in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky warned would prolong the war.
An AFP reporter saw the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers in flames and smoke billowing over the capital.
Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in Kyiv, according to emergency services.
Russia has shown no sign of halting its three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine, pushing hardline demands for ending the war despite efforts by the United States to broker a peace deal.
Residents in Kyiv spoke of their frustration following the strikes.
“This is already routine for us, unfortunately,” Olga, a 30-year-old resident of a damaged building, told AFP.
The Russians first “grab the Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones), then the rockets come,” she said.
The attack on Sunday was the first to hit Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers, a sprawling government complex at the heart of Kyiv.
An AFP reporter saw helicopters dropping what appeared to be buckets of water over its roof, as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, said it had struck “Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and transport infrastructure” in the attack, without mentioning the government building.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding the building, the roof and upper floors of which sustained damage.
“We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorises and kills our people every day throughout the country,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Russia fired at least 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine between late Saturday and early Sunday, in a new record, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Zelensky said emergency services were working across the country.
“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” he said on Facebook.
The attack drew condemnation from European leaders, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
