Overnight missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least 23 people and damaged the British Council and EU delegation offices in the deadliest aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital since the Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Four children were among the dead after a residential building in the Darnytskyi district was hit, Ukraine's interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.
A further person died in a separate blast in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, which left buildings severely damaged, including those housing the EU delegation and the British Council. It is the first time British government property has been caught up in a Russian attack since the full-scale invasion. A total of 38 people were wounded.
The Foreign Office summoned Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, at 1pm in direct response to the damage. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "Putin's strikes last night killed civilians, destroyed homes and damaged buildings. We have summoned the Russian ambassador. The killing and destruction must stop." Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attacks as "senseless" and accused Russia of "sabotaging hopes of peace".
Photos from the British Council showed the building with windows and entrance smashed, surrounded by glass and debris. A guard was injured but described as "shaken but stable". The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, said the delegation offices were "severely damaged by the shock wave".
Ukraine's air force reported 629 missiles and drones were launched overnight, one of the biggest aerial attacks since February 2022. The assault included 11 ballistic missiles, 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles and 598 Shahed and decoy drones. Three high-speed ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles were not intercepted.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the onslaught showed Russia had no intention of negotiating, stating: "Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table." Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg said the strikes threatened Trump's proposals to end the war.
