The Japan Times - Russia targets security chief's office in daylight Kyiv strike: Zelensky

The daytime strike came two days before US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to visit Kyiv for the first time, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Zelensky said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an "appropriate, tangible response" to the strike, while Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga described it as a "major escalation".

The acting head of the SBU, Oleksandr Poklad, was not in the vicinity at the time of the attack, a senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

"The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the security service in that building," he added.

Russia did not immediately comment on the attack.

An image published by the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet showed what appeared to be black smoke pouring from at least two windows on the front of the SBU building, while a fire engine was parked outside.

An AFP reporter saw several ambulances nearby.

Zelensky said that he had spoken to Poklad following the strike and that preparations for a response were already underway.

"The areas to be targeted have been identified. The timing will be chosen to ensure a successful outcome," Zelensky said on Telegram.

Poklad was unharmed, the SBU said in a statement, adding that the building would "certainly be restored".

It was the first time the powerful security agency's headquarters had been hit since the start of Russia's invasion in 2022.

- 12 wounded -

The SBU is Ukraine's internal security agency and has been the mastermind behind multiple attacks on Russia.

Russia has escalated its daytime strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, sometimes using jet-powered drones that are harder for air defences to destroy.

Attacks on government buildings in central Kyiv -- which are heavily fortified and ring-fenced by security barricades -- are rare, however.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 12 people had been wounded in the attack on the city centre, without giving details on whether the casualties were in the SBU building.

AFP was not able to immediately verify the kind of munition used in the attack.

Witkoff and Kushner were due in Kyiv for the first time on Sunday, a Ukrainian official told AFP.

The Kremlin declined to comment earlier on whether the pair were expected in Moscow.

US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled in recent months as the United States has shifted its focus towards the war with Iran.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe's worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops.

The strike came amid heightened tensions between the SBU and Ukraine's GUR, a military intelligence agency.

A gunfight between members of the two agencies broke out in the capital earlier this week, an incident that Zelensky called "completely unacceptable".

S.Yamamoto--JT