Russia Accused of Mocking Peace Efforts With Kyiv Attack

Massive air attack kills at least 21, damages European Union offices
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 28, 2025 2:57 PM CDT
Massive Attack on Kyiv Kills 21, Damages EU Offices
Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.   (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia launched a major air attack early Thursday on Kyiv that included a rare strike on the city center, killing at least 21 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union diplomatic offices, authorities said. The bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as US-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction, the AP reports. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "sabotaging" hopes of peace with the "senseless" strikes and top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas summoned Russia's EU envoy to Brussels. She said the strikes showed "a deliberate choice to escalate and mock peace efforts," the BBC reports.

Ukraine on Thursday requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the overnight bombardment, while two of Ukraine's top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation. The Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursday's air attack, which was one of the war's biggest since it began in 2022.

  • Among the dead were four children between 2 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city administration. He said more people could still be under the rubble, and search and rescue efforts continued on Thursday evening.
  • The attack was one of the few times Russian drones and missiles have penetrated the heart of Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country early Thursday, most of them striking targets in Kyiv.
  • At least 33 locations across all 10 of the city's districts were directly hit or damaged by debris, Tkachenko said. Thousands of windows shattered as nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center.

  • European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said two strikes landed 20 seconds apart about 160 feet from the EU Mission to Ukraine building in Kyiv. She said no staff were injured in the strike. "No diplomatic mission should ever be a target. In response, we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels," Kallas said in a post on X.
  • The British Council, which promotes cultural relations and educational opportunities, also said its Kyiv office had been "severely damaged" in the attack and was closed to visitors until further notice. The British Council and EU buildings are located almost side-by-side and the two strikes in close succession suggest there was "a calculated attempt to target them," the Telegraph reports.

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