Russian drone strikes Ukraine’s security service HQ, escalating air war

KYIV - A Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in Kyiv on Sept 4, one of the most high-profile targets struck during the war as Russia intensified its campaign of air strikes against Ukraine.

Ukraine said the attack was a major escalation of the war and President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to retaliate, as Moscow’s air strikes on the Ukrainian capital extended into a 10th day.

Heavy black smoke rose in Kyiv’s historic city centre following the attack, which the city’s mayor said had wounded at least 12 people.

During more than four-and-a-half years of war with Russia, Ukrainian government buildings have rarely been damaged in drone and missile strikes.

“The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building,” Zelensky said on the Telegram app.

He said that he ordered “an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike.”

“(SBU) Head Oleksandr Poklad reported on preparations for our active response to the Russian strikes,” Zelensky said, posting a picture of their meeting in his office in Kyiv.

“The geography of our response has been determined.”

The SBU is vital to Ukraine’s war efforts as it carries out high-impact, deep strikes inside Russia designed to damage Moscow’s war machine and its energy infrastructure.

The vast security agency was responsible for ambitious operations against Russia, such as the 2022 bombing of a Russian bridge to occupied Crimea and a 2025 drone attack, codenamed Spiderweb, that struck Russian strategic bombers.

It is also seen as a leading player in a campaign of covert assassinations of senior Russian military and other figures blamed by Ukraine for carrying out war crimes. Russia has denounced those killings as terrorist attacks.

Impact on diplomatic efforts

The strike on the SBU came as US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to visit Moscow and Kyiv over the coming two days.

Diplomatic efforts to end the war have been stalled for months as fighting rages on along more than 1,200km of the frontline and Ukrainian cities are constantly bombarded.

Kyiv is also intensifying its strikes inside Russia, aiming to reduce its economic ability to continue with the war.

Zelensky said the two US envoys would visit Kyiv on Sept 6.

He called on Russia to halt its airstrikes on Ukraine during the visit and said Kyiv would guarantee the safety of the Russian airspace for their trip to Moscow.

“The Russian attack on Ukraine’s Security Service Headquarters is a major escalation that demands resolute responses,” said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace – laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said.

The walls shook

Numerous ambulances and emergency services were at the scene of Sept 4’s strike in the historic part of the city close to the Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

“Four hundred metres (yards) from our office. The walls shook. The blast wave reached us very clearly,” Iryna Borovets, a deputy director at the European Policy Institute, said in a post on X.

“It is a strike both against an institution that defends the country and against the ordinary urban space, and the protected historical heart of the city – that we are still trying to preserve.”

The blast smashed windows at one of the buildings, which is part of the historic St Sophia complex, officials said.

The owner of a popular bakery, Zavertailo, said on the Telegram app that their building, located opposite the SBU building, was also damaged in the attack.

He posted pictures of shattered glass covering tables and the floor.

Ukraine’s capital has been under continuous Russian drone attack for 10 days.

“I think (people) can get used to this. In the centre of Kyiv, and in the centre of Moscow. It will get worse, I believe this,” said Kyiv resident Oleh, 33, who declined to give his last name. REUTERS