(KYIV, UKRAINE) – A Russian drone has struck the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU, in central Kyiv, injuring at least nine people in a daylight attack on a busy neighbourhood near St Sophia’s Cathedral and several Western embassies.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the security service within the building. The security chief was not present at the time of the attack. Zelenskyy added that he has instructed the security service to deliver an appropriate and tangible response that mirrors the strike once preparations are complete.
A fire broke out in the building following the strike. Emergency services are currently working at the scene. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as a major escalation that demands resolute responses. He said the strike laid bare what he called Moscow’s true rejection of diplomacy.
Sybiha called on international partners to unequivocally condemn the actions and step up pressure on the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The attack on the SBU headquarters was part of a broader Russian bombardment across Ukraine overnight. At least five people were killed and 66 injured, with drones reaching as far as the western regions of Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia.
President Zelenskyy said damage was recorded in 13 oblasts overnight after 163 drones were fired, around half of them jet powered. “The enemy did not go on vacation,” he said. “The Russians have found a new escalation and have no plans to slow it down. We need faster European production of defensive systems, primarily air defence, both anti-missile and anti-drone.”
The largest number of injuries was reported in Odesa, where at least 17 people including three children were hurt. Twenty apartments on the 10th through 17th floors of a residential building and 12 nearby cars were damaged, according to the regional governor. Odesa has been especially targeted in recent weeks as Moscow seeks to strangle grain corridors over land and sea.
Ukrainian gunners have been forced to use Soviet era Yak-52 propeller planes donated by a Dutch NGO, with gunners armed only with assault rifles hunting Russian drones from open cockpits.
In Kyiv Oblast, a man suffered shrapnel wounds and was hospitalised. Warehouses, an administrative building, a shop and kiosks were damaged. The government has drawn attention to the fact that a Coca-Cola plant was hit.
The deadliest attacks were reported in Dnipropetrovsk region, where four people were killed and 13 injured as Russian forces struck six districts with drones, artillery and a glide bomb. In Kherson Oblast, one person was killed and 16 injured. Footage circulating on social media shows a minibus apparently deliberately targeted by a manually controlled FPV drone.
Other impacted oblasts included Sumy, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Ukrainian forces also struck Russian territory. The Black Sea port of Sochi was hit again overnight, with video released by the Ukrainian Navy showing the aftermath of a drone hitting a ship supporting Russia’s oil and gas operations. Local Telegram channels shared footage of a fire at an oil depot and a reported explosion around a Pantsir air defence system at the port.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck a military industrial facility in Stalita, more than 1,300 kilometres from the border. The facility produces aviation fuel and other materials used by Russia’s defence industry.
An apparent assassination targeted Major General Nikolai Vakovich, a Russian military commander recently linked by the SBU to a deadly strike on a children’s hospital in 2024. Vakovich was shot twice by an unknown attacker near Engels in Russia’s Saratov Oblast. The attacker escaped on a motorbike.
The SBU had recently handed down a notice of suspicion against Vakovich in absentia for his involvement in the strike on Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on 8th July 2024. That attack killed two adults and injured at least 34 people, including nine children. More than 600 patients were in the hospital during the attack.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy’s threat against Russian air traffic continues to play out. Airports around Moscow entered a third consecutive night of disruption as another wave of drones approached the capital amid cancellations and delays.
Czech President Petr Pavel responded to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s claim that Zelenskyy’s actions bordered on state terrorism. “It’s strange to hear talks about state terrorism from a man who directly orders to commit state terrorism on other countries, including my own,” Pavel said.
On the diplomatic front, the planned visit of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Ukraine has been thrown into doubt. The visit was scheduled for 5th and 6th September, but the Kyiv Independent reported that Witkoff is becoming reluctant to travel.
A source told the Kyiv Independent that Russians do not want the envoys to visit Kyiv and that Witkoff is always sensitive to Russian sentiment. Witkoff is reportedly uncomfortable travelling to Kyiv by train. Ukrainian airspace remains closed, making plane travel impossible.
The uncertainty comes as former US President Donald Trump said he will ask European nations to repay the United States for military aid given to Ukraine. Trump said hundreds of billions of dollars were given to Ukraine and NATO free of charge. He said Europe would have paid if asked and that the US will be asking for that money.
The British Foreign Office has summoned a top Russian diplomat over the Leipzig airport drone attack after Germany blamed Russia. A Downing Street spokesperson said the UK stands in full solidarity with Germany following what was described as Russia’s egregious and reckless attack.
The Russian embassy in London called the summons part of a coordinated provocation and said the accusations were absurd and categorically rejected. Moscow warned that any escalation by Britain or Europe would draw what it called an adequate and calibrated response.
Germany announced it would close the Russia House in Berlin. Russia responded by saying it will close all branches of Germany’s Goethe Institute in Russia.
Germany has also announced a new aid package of €250 million ($271 million or £213 million) to repair Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev suggested the Leipzig attack was provoked by Western military support for Ukraine. Radev asked what can be expected when another country is attacked with long range weapons. He has repeatedly characterised European weapons deliveries to Ukraine as reckless.
Estonia’s Defence Minister has resigned over a €70 million ($76 million or £60 million) scandal involving EU funded artillery for Ukraine. The Estonian government awarded a contract to supply weapons to a company that had never made weapons before. The supplier, an Indian run Italy based company called Datacell SRL, reportedly delivered munitions that were incomplete or faulty. None of them ever reached Ukraine. Estonia’s prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation.
China has announced it will send troops to Russia for training. The Chinese defence ministry said the deployment is for mine detection, area clearance and removing improvised explosive devices.
Footage of the SBU headquarters strike and subsequent operations was released by the Press Service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy.
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