Russia Launches Largest Air Attack on Ukraine, Strikes Government Building in Kyiv

Kyiv, Sept 7 — Russia carried out its biggest overnight air assault since the start of the war, striking Ukraine’s capital and setting the main government building on fire. At least three people were killed, including an infant whose body was recovered from the rubble, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that, for the first time, the central government building in Kyiv was hit. Its roof and upper floors caught fire after the strike. “Rescuers are extinguishing the fire,” she wrote on Telegram.

Witnesses reported thick smoke rising from the historic Pecherskyi district just after sunrise as the top floor of the building burned.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight. Ukrainian defence systems shot down 751 drones and four missiles — the highest number of drones used in a single attack since the invasion began in February 2022.

In the Darnytskyi district, on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, a four-storey apartment block was badly damaged. Emergency crews found the body of a baby and confirmed that a young woman also died. Eighteen people were injured in the overnight assault, including a pregnant woman. Mayor Vitali Klitschko added that an elderly woman died while sheltering during the attack.

Drone debris also caused major damage in other parts of Kyiv. Fires broke out in a 16-storey apartment block and two nine-storey buildings in the Sviatoshynskyi district, leaving several floors partially collapsed.

Photos shared by emergency services showed apartment blocks with shattered facades and collapsed walls, smoke still rising from the ruins.

Kyiv’s military administrator, Timur Tkachenko, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians. “The enemy terrorizes and kills our people across the country every day,” he said.

Prime Minister Svyrydenko urged allies to supply Ukraine with more weapons, stressing: “We will rebuild the buildings. But lost lives cannot be brought back.”

Meanwhile, in central Ukraine, dozens of explosions were reported in the city of Kremenchuk. Power outages hit parts of the city, and a bridge across the Dnipro River was damaged, according to Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi.

Moscow has not commented on the latest strikes. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians, though thousands have been killed since the full-scale invasion began.