Zelensky claims Russian strike on security service building in Kiev (VIDEOS)
A drone has hit the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kiev, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed.
He blamed the incident on Russia, claiming the UAV landed a direct hit on the office of the agency’s acting head, Aleksandr Poklad. The official was not harmed in the alleged Russian attack, according to Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader said he had already tasked Poklad with preparing an “adequate, noticeable, and, if possible, mirror response.”
Footage from the scene that has emerged on Ukrainian Telegram channels appears to show that an explosion damaged the facade of the building, with thick black smoke billowing out of two of its windows.
Surveillance footage that emerged online shortly after the incident shows an unknown projectile, appearing to be a delta wing-patterned kamikaze drone, rapidly approaching the building before exploding into a large fireball.
Nine people were injured in the Shevchenkovsky District, where the SBU building is located, after a drone came down in the area, according to Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. Seven of them were hospitalized.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported drone strikes on the Kiev airport of Zhulyany. According to Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko, the strike affected two Soviet-era Yak-40 passenger jets. The long-dilapidated planes were not airworthy and had been sitting at the airport for decades.
The incident comes shortly after Zelensky issued a threat against civilian aviation operating in Russia. “We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” the Ukrainian leader said in a video address on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the remarks as a “declaration of state terrorism,” pledging to deliver an appropriate response if Kiev’s threats resulted in a tragedy.
