By Isabella Egerton
The UK and European Union have summoned senior Russian diplomats after overnight Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv killed at least 18 people, including four children, and left dozens more injured.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the strikes, which damaged the British Council offices in Kyiv, as “the killing and destruction of civilians, children and cultural institutions.” The Russian ambassador in London has been summoned. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the assault showed President Vladimir Putin was “sabotaging hopes of peace” and accused him of “killing children and civilians.”
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas declared that “no diplomatic mission should ever be a target,” after the EU’s delegation building in Kyiv was also damaged. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged a new round of sanctions and confirmed efforts to channel frozen Russian assets into support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as “terror and barbarism.”
According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, at least 18 civilians were confirmed dead by late afternoon, among them four children aged two, 14 and 17, with another killed later in hospital. More than 100 people required psychological assistance, while rescue workers continue to clear rubble in the Darnytskyi district, where a five-storey building was destroyed. Children aged seven, 10 and 11 were among the injured.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the strikes as a rejection of international diplomacy: “These Russian missiles and attack drones today are a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy. Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war.”
He urged the world to impose new, tough sanctions and called for reactions from countries including China and Hungary, insisting: “The death of children should definitely stir far greater emotions than anything else. Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war.”
The strikes, among the deadliest against the capital in months, targeted both residential areas and diplomatic premises, underscoring Moscow’s intent to pressure Ukraine and its partners. Analysts note the scale and timing of the attack demonstrate a deliberate escalation, as European leaders pledged to accelerate support for Kyiv’s defence.
