Drone hits SBU HQ in Kyiv; Zelensky orders response — SkimNews
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- A Russian drone crashed into the SBU headquarters in central Kyiv on Friday afternoon, hitting a room used by security chief Oleksandr Poklad in what the report calls a rare successful strike on a Ukrainian government building.
- President Zelensky said he spoke to Poklad by phone and ordered 'an appropriate, tangible response' that, 'where possible, mirrors this strike' — language that raises the prospect of a direct strike on a Russian government target.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported five people were injured in the attack; a nearby café was heavily damaged and one customer was taken to hospital, according to owner Stanislav Zavertaylo.
- Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the attack a 'major escalation' and accused Moscow of laying bare its 'true rejection of diplomacy' by striking during an active US-led peace push.
- Russia's defence ministry separately said on Friday it struck a cargo vessel in the port of Chornomorsk and a tanker near Odesa.
- US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday and Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, per Axios, as Trump's mediation effort continues without a breakthrough so far.
Why it matters: The strike hit one of Ukraine's most sensitive security buildings — across from the St Sophia cathedral — and Zelensky says the drone was aimed directly at Poklad's office, an unusually pointed target. Five were injured and civilian infrastructure was damaged, and the attack came hours before Trump's peace envoys are due in Moscow, testing whether the weekend talks can survive a strike Zelensky frames as a deliberate escalation.
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