Crystal Charles
Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine early Sunday, killing at least four people and setting parts of Kyiv’s central government offices ablaze.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the unprecedented barrage — involving more than 810 drones and 13 missiles — would prolong the war, and called for a decisive response from Washington and European allies.
Flames engulfed the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers building in Kyiv, the first time the sprawling complex has been directly hit in the conflict. Drone strikes also damaged several residential towers, emergency services reported.
“We will restore the buildings,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said after surveying the damage. “But we cannot bring back lost lives.”
Russia denied targeting civilians, saying it struck a military plant and logistics hub in Kyiv. The defense ministry insisted “no strikes were carried out on other targets within the boundaries of Kyiv.”
Among the casualties was a 24-year-old pregnant woman who delivered a premature baby following the attack. Doctors are battling to save both lives, state television reported. At least two more people were killed west of the capital, while overnight strikes in the east and southeast left dozens wounded.
International condemnation was swift. French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia was “locking itself ever deeper into the logic of war and terror.” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the “cowardly” strikes, while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Moscow of “mocking diplomacy.”
In Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested new sanctions and tariffs targeting nations that continue to buy Russian oil, warning that “the Russian economy will be in full collapse.”
Zelensky has also spoken with Macron about strengthening Ukraine’s defenses, stressing that Russia’s assault was “testing the world.”
The barrage came days after more than two dozen European countries pledged to oversee any future peace deal, with some signaling readiness to deploy troops. Moscow has warned that any Western forces in Ukraine would be treated as legitimate targets.
Despite recent diplomatic efforts, including talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, no breakthrough has been achieved.
Russia continues to occupy roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory amid grinding battles that have killed tens of thousands and displaced millions — Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.