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Russia targeted a Ukrainian government building in the capital for the first time since the conflict began more than three years ago, officials said Monday, using an Iskander ballistic missile in what marked an escalation in attacks on official government infrastructure.
The strike occurred during Russia's largest coordinated drone and missile assault since the war's February 2022 start, damaging 800 to 900 square meters of the building and leaving what the European Union's ambassador to Ukraine described as a "gaping hole."
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, confirmed the unprecedented targeting of government facilities in a post on X, saying he had discussed the attack with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"For the first time, the enemy attacked the building of the Ukrainian government — a strike with an Iskander ballistic missile," Yermak wrote.
The missile failed to fully detonate, preventing complete destruction of the structure, according to EU Ambassador Katarina Mathernova, who inspected the damage and observed missile remnants at the site.
"It's only because the missile was unable to fully detonate that the entire building wasn't turned into ruins," she said.
Andriy Danyk, head of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, told journalists Monday that the impact triggered a rapidly spreading fire. The Iskander, a short-range ballistic missile system, has been extensively deployed by Russian forces against various Ukrainian targets throughout the conflict but had not previously struck government buildings in the capital.
The attack caused a fire that spread "very quickly," he told a group of journalists, including AFP, who visited the site.
Sunday's broader assault resulted in multiple casualties, prompting Ukraine to renew calls for international partners to impose additional economic sanctions on Moscow.
Yermak said his conversation with Rubio covered both sanctions enforcement and security guarantees Ukraine seeks as part of any potential ceasefire agreement.
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