Russia attacked the headquarters of Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service in the heart of the capital, Kyiv, on Friday afternoon, aiming an exploding drone directly at the office of the agency’s director, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The blast at the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine, across the street from the landmark St. Sophia Cathedral, came amid another day of intense bombardment in Kyiv as Russia and Ukraine are locked in an escalating air war.
Mr. Zelensky said on social media that the agency’s director, Oleksandr Poklad, had survived the strike. The Ukrainian leader added that he had ordered Mr. Poklad to devise a response that would mirror the Russian attack.
The strike in central Kyiv, which would be the equivalent of targeting a top Russian official in Red Square, was the latest sign that the red lines that still remain in Europe’s deadliest war in a generation continue to be crossed.
Emergency crews were responding at the scene of the attack. At least 12 people were injured, according to Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
The strike came as the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were planning imminent visits to Moscow and to Kyiv to try to restart stalled negotiations aimed at ending the war, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on social media that the Russian attack was “a major escalation” that demanded a response. “Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace — laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy,” he said.
Kyiv has been subjected to barrages of missiles and drones for more than a week. At least six people have died in strikes in the city in the past 24 hours.
On Thursday, a Russian strike destroyed a Coca-Cola bottling plant in the Kyiv region and a warehouse for the World Health Organization that stored humanitarian medical supplies.
Over the course of the war, the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the S.B.U., has been transformed from a conventional domestic counterintelligence service into a specialized deep-strike and sabotage force. It has executed some of the war’s most brazen operations inside Russia.
In 2022, the agency orchestrated a damaging truck-bombing on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to occupied Crimea. Multiple road spans collapsed, and fuel tankers ignited on an adjacent railway.
S.B.U. operators attacked the bridge again in 2023, using maritime drones to target the structure’s support pillars.
Perhaps the most audacious assault came in 2025, when the agency smuggled into Russia dozens of strike drones and launchers inside truck containers disguised as cargo and prefabricated sheds. Ukraine used the drones to attack strategic air bases across Russia.
The S.B.U. headquarters is in one of the most secure parts of Kyiv. The street in front of the building has been closed to pedestrian traffic since the early months of the war. The building is near historical landmarks, busy cafes and apartment buildings.
St. Sophia’s Cathedral was not damaged, Ukrainian officials said, but some windows in other buildings on the grounds were blown out.
Stanislav Zavertailo, the owner of a nearby cafe, said that his business was destroyed.
“I don’t know what else to say,” he wrote on social media. “I’m heading there. I’m most worried about the guests and the team.”
One customer was taken to hospital, he wrote.
“It looks like the effects of the blast wave, with no bleeding or visible injuries,” he said. “The entire team is safe and unharmed, but they are still in shock.”
Following the attack, the S.B.U. vowed revenge.
“The Russians will receive a painful response to their strikes — more special operations, uncovered agent networks and eliminated enemies,” the agency said in a statement.