Smoke could be seen above the SBU headquarters in Kyiv on Friday after a drone targeted the office of the acting head of the security service, Oleksandr Poklad, who was unscathed following the attack, The Independent reported.
***
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that Russia would face a proportionate response.
“I spoke with the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Poklad. Unfortunately, a Russian drone struck the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, across from St. Sophia Cathedral,” he said.
“All emergency services are on the scene. Everyone affected will receive the necessary assistance. The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building.
“I instructed Poklad to deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready. Our military will support this response. Glory to Ukraine!”
The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches toward five years since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
Russia has opted for fast-flying, jet-powered drones in recent times and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike a “major escalation” that came as potential peace talks were building momentum.”Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, an investigation is set to determine what caused a dispute between the SBU with the defence ministry’s HUR security agency
The dispute centres on the disappearance for nine days of a Russian nationalist activist fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in the 4-1/2-year-old war pitting Moscow against Kyiv.
The nationalist said he was detained by the SBU Security Service and obliged to sign a confession that he collaborated with Russian intelligence. He later retracted the statement.
