In the heart of Kyiv, the aftermath of Russia’s most devastating aerial assault since its full-scale invasion was laid bare for the world to see. On September 8, 2025, the heads of 60 diplomatic missions accredited in Ukraine were personally escorted by senior Ukrainian officials through the charred and battered halls of the Cabinet of Ministers building, a structure that—until now—had stood untouched throughout years of war. According to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, this was more than a tour: it was a stark demonstration of the new phase in Russia’s campaign, one that now openly targets government institutions and the very core of Ukrainian sovereignty.
The attack, which struck in the early hours of September 7, involved a staggering 810 drones and decoys, as reported by Ukraine’s air force and confirmed by the Associated Press. The scale was unprecedented. Ukrainian defenses managed to shoot down 747 drones and four missiles, but enough slipped through to cause devastation in multiple cities, including Kyiv, Sumy, Kremenchuk, Odesa, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia. The Cabinet of Ministers building—a ten-story, Soviet-era edifice with a distinctive half-circle façade—suffered a direct hit for the first time since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022.
Smoke billowed from the upper floors, and a fire covering 800 square meters was eventually subdued by firefighters, who managed to contain the blaze to three floors. Inside, diplomats were shown burnt-out offices and debris-strewn corridors. The damage was not just physical; it was deeply symbolic, marking a shift in the conflict’s trajectory. "For the first time since the start of full-scale invasion, Russians struck our government headquarters in the center of Kyiv," Svyrydenko said in a video posted from inside the damaged building, as reported by Associated Press. "It looks like Russia is not seeking peace and is not ready for negotiations. We call our partners to help close our sky. Let’s strengthen sanctions against Russia. Let’s create the security guarantees system that will help stop the enemy."
The human cost of the attack was equally harrowing. In Kyiv alone, a 32-year-old woman and her two-month-old son were killed when a drone struck their apartment building, alongside a 54-year-old man. Across Ukraine, the death toll reached four, with over 44 people injured. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city administration, confirmed that the bodies of the mother and her infant were pulled from the rubble. "I just have no more words left to express what I feel towards Russia," lamented Olha, a 77-year-old Kyiv resident whose apartment was damaged, in comments to the Associated Press. "Although I’m an ethnic Russian myself, from outside Moscow. And I’ve never thought my people would be capable of this."
During the diplomats’ briefing, the focus was not solely on the battered government building but on the widespread destruction and civilian casualties wrought by the barrage. According to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had invited the diplomatic corps to bear witness to the devastation, emphasizing that these attacks undermine any hope for peace and diplomacy. "This is not the conduct of a country seeking peace. It is a direct mockery of every diplomatic effort made by the civilised world. This is an existential war. Among yesterday’s dead were a two-month-old child and a young mother. Russia is killing our children, attempting to destroy our future," Svyrydenko stated, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.
International reaction was swift and pointed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath, called for tougher sanctions and enhanced air defenses. “Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have started long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” Zelenskyy said, as reported by the Associated Press. “The world can force the Kremlin criminals to stop killing; only political will is needed.” Macron echoed the sentiment, accusing Russia of “striking indiscriminately” and retreating further into “the logic of war and terror.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was equally emphatic: “These cowardly strikes show that Putin believes he can act with impunity. He is not serious about peace. Now, more than ever, we must stand firm in our support for Ukraine and its sovereignty.”
Russia, for its part, insisted that its forces had used “high-precision weapons” to target military infrastructure, denying that civilian or government buildings in Kyiv were intentionally struck. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed all designated military objects were hit and asserted that “no strikes were carried out on other objects within the borders of Kyiv.” This statement, however, was at odds with the extensive physical evidence and eyewitness accounts presented to the diplomats and the international press.
As the dust settled, Ukrainian officials were quick to point out the strategic implications of the attack. According to Svyrydenko, Russia has nearly doubled its use of Shahed drones in recent strikes, a tactic believed to be part of a broader effort to cripple civilian infrastructure and government functionality before winter sets in. Analysts and officials alike warned that Russia could escalate to launching over 1,000 drones per day in the coming months, aiming to grind down Ukrainian resistance and morale.
The broader geopolitical context is equally fraught. Efforts by the U.S. and its allies to broker peace have stalled, with new deadlines for Russian compliance coming and going without consequence. Despite calls from Ukrainian and European leaders for Washington to ramp up sanctions on Russia and its trading partners—whose economies rely heavily on Russian crude oil—no decisive action has yet been taken. A team of European officials, led by EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan, was scheduled to meet with the U.S. Treasury to discuss additional economic pressure on Moscow, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the fighting on the ground continues with little sign of abatement. Russia’s military, though unable to secure major territorial gains along the 620-mile front line, persists in its campaign of attrition. Ukraine, in turn, has launched retaliatory drone strikes, including one that sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 100 Ukrainian drones overnight, with most shot down over Belgorod, Voronezh, and Krasnodar.
For Kyiv’s residents—and for the diplomats who witnessed the aftermath firsthand—the message was clear. The war has entered a new and more dangerous chapter, one where even the seat of government is no longer safe from the horrors of modern warfare. As repairs to the Cabinet building’s roof begin and the city’s wounded try to recover, the world waits to see whether the international community will answer Ukraine’s urgent calls for support, or whether such scenes will become an even more common feature of daily life in Ukraine’s embattled capital.