Russia Strikes Ukraine Government Complex, Near Zelensky’s Office, In War’s Biggest Air Attack

After a summer which has seen literally dozens of Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Russia’s vital oil and energy infrastructure, President Putin is increasingly going gloves off, hitting 'decision-making centers’ in Ukraine with drone and missile strikes, something previously not seen in well over three years of war.

Russia launched its largest-ever aerial assault on Ukraine early Sunday, sending over 800 drones across the country, which included decoys. The prior largest strike, which happened in July, saw around 730 drones sent. At least nine missiles also made impact on Sunday, local officials said. Some sources say the fresh assault may be seen up to 1,000 projectiles launched.

Crucially, this is the first ever aerial strike directly targeted Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers, a major government complex in the heart of central Kiev. Government buildings in the capital have thus far been sparred in the Russian 'special military operation’ (SMO) – but Sunday’s attack suggests the Kremlin could be turning toward all-out war.

Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers building on fire, State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Telegram

It certainly at the very least is a loud warning at a moment Ukraine has been escalating its own cross-border drone attacks on oil refineries, defense sector factories, and Russian airbases. At least five Ukrainians were killed in the new nation-wide, broad drone assault – including a woman and child in the capital, the NY Times reports.

AFP has said that one of its correspondents witnessed flames engulfing the roof of the cabinet building, verified in emerging photos, with thick smoke rising above the center part of the capital. Several high-rise apartment buildings also were reportedly struck and suffered damage.

The same report noted that for the first time of the conflict, emergency crews are battling blazes at a central government complex, with helicopters seen overhead doing water-drop runs. This government area of the city is typically well-guarded by anti-air defenses, and it looks like the Russians overwhelmed these systems.

The most devastating impacts likely came from the over dozen cruise and ballistic missiles fired by Russia, as tallied by Ukraine’s defense ministry. Only a few of these were intercepted or failed to reach their targets.

The Kremlin is not immediately owning up to hitting the government building, instead claiming that within the Kiev area it only struck a plant and logistics hub connected to the Ukrainian military:

The Russian Defense Ministry said “no strikes were carried out on other targets within the boundaries of Kyiv,” explicitly denying responsibility for the government building strike.

Police cordoned off the area surrounding the building, the roof and upper floors of which sustained damage.

“We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorizes and kills our people every day throughout the country,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. She later posted a video from inside the damaged floor showing shattered offices and burned walls.

There remains the possibility that an errant Ukrainian anti-air defense missile fell on the building, or else that it caught fire due to intercepted rocket or drone debris falling. Still, the overwhelming nature of the attack from Russia is signaling a strong message and warning of severe escalation.

Sunday’s attack will certainly cause European leaders to ramp up pressure on Washington go ahead and unleash Trump’s threatened secondary sanctions on Moscow and its trading partners.

Russia always dreamed of striking “decision-making centers.” Now the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv is burning. How will the world respond? They are watching. pic.twitter.com/cJb7pHSgOw

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 7, 2025

Writing further of the significance, NY Times describes:

Rising on a hill and crisscrossed by leafy, cobblestone streets, the government district in Kyiv lies at the center of rings of air defenses. But early Sunday, flames leaped from the windows of the building where the Cabinet of Ministers convenes, and firefighters flew in a helicopter to douse the blaze.

Smoke billowed from the large, colonnaded building, a landmark in the city, near Parliament and the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has quickly chimed in, writing on social social media, „Once again, the Kremlin is mocking diplomacy, trampling international law and killing indiscriminately.”

As a result of another massive Russian attack on Ukraine, the building of Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine in Kyiv was damaged, according to local authorities. pic.twitter.com/ewVLqKbAka

— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) September 7, 2025

This will serve to boost the more hawkish members of Macron’s 'coalition of the willing’ which just met in Paris last week.

The condemnations kept rolling in, with France’s Macron decrying that Russia „is locking itself ever deeper into the logic of war and terror” – the UK’s Starmer slamming „cowardly strikes” which further affirm that Putin „is not serious about peace.”

The Trump effort to get the warring parties to achieve a quick peace settlement now appears completely in tatters – though it was already limping along for weeks.

This puts pressure on Trump from within his own administration too, as hawks will seize and will argue for more major military hardware to be shipped to Kiev.