The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) summoned their respective Russian ambassadors after the Kremlin military pounded Kyiv with a massive drone and missile attack overnight Thursday, killing at least 18 people and damaging both the EU’s mission building and British Council offices in Ukraine’s capital.
Russia’s attacks destroyed a five-story building and severely damaged others in Kyiv as rescuers worked to clear the rubble in order to find residents. Among the casualties were at least three children, with the youngest girls being 3 years old, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who added that Friday will be a day of mourning for the victims.
The strikes represent the largest attack on Kyiv since President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month. Since then, the Kremlin seems to have been slow-walking a potential peace deal as it continues to attack Ukraine.
The Russian military launched 598 drones and 31 missiles in the overnight attack on Ukraine, including nine ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine’s air force. Ukrainian officials said they shot down 563 drones and 26 missiles, with 13 locations taking a direct hit.
“It is crucial now that the world responds firmly. Russia must stop this war it started and continues. For the spurning of ceasefire and for the constant Russian attempts to weasel out of negotiations, new strong sanctions are needed. Only this can work,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday morning on the social platform X. “The Russians understand only strength and pressure. For every strike, Moscow must feel the consequences.”
Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, was summoned by the Foreign Office in London after the massive attack, according to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
“We have summoned the Russian Ambassador. The killing and destruction must stop,” Lammy said Thursday morning on X.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said she had summoned the Russian envoy in Brussells, Karen Malayan.
“No diplomatic mission should ever be a target,” Kallas said in a post on X.
The EU delegation building was damaged in the strikes, according to photos shared by officials. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack and called for Russia to come to the negotiating table.
“We must secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine with firm and credible security guarantees that will turn the country into a steel porcupine,” von der Leyen said Thursday on X. “Europe will fully play its part.”
The EU Commission president said she spoke with Zelensky and Trump following Russia’s attacks. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday that the British Council building in Ukraine’s capital was damaged, accusing Putin of killing civilians and children and “sabotaging hopes of peace.”
Trump’s envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg slammed Russia’s latest barrage of missiles and drones.
“The targets? Not soldiers and weapons but residential areas in Kyiv—blasting civilian trains, the EU & British mission council offices, and innocent civilians,” Kellogg, who met with Zelensky in Ukraine last week, said Thursday morning on X. “These egregious attacks threaten the peace that @POTUS is pursuing.”
Russia has previously said it attacks only military targets. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov weighed in on the strikes Thursday, stating the “special military operation is continuing” and that Ukraine has continued to hit Russia’s infrastructure, according to The New York Times.
After the meeting in Anchorage, Trump has pushed to assemble a huddle between Putin and Zelensky. Russia has so far rejected the proposed meeting and has dismissed a European-led proposal for security guarantees to include NATO peacekeeping forces.
Russian officials have also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, something that Trump dismissed this week as just “posturing.”
“It doesn’t matter what they say. Everybody’s posturing. It’s all bulls‑‑-,” the president said during a lengthy Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
An initial version of this article was published at 10:22 a.m. EST
