Editor’s note:
For more than a week now, Russia has been grinding Kyiv down with drones and missiles. Our team has been working through it — sirens, basements, the low buzz overhead, then the explosions.
Today one of those blasts landed in the middle of the city.
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The headquarters of the SBU, Ukraine’s state security service, was hit by a Russian drone on September 4, President Zelenskyy announced Friday afternoon.
The organization is responsible for counterintelligence and law enforcement, comparable to the FBI in the U.S.
After the building was hit, a fire broke out, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has already reported 7 victims, 6 of whom were hospitalized. The building, in the heart of the capital, is right nearby St. Sophia’s Cathedral, a key cultural landmark in Kyiv.
The explosions could be heard from The Counteroffensive’s office in the center of Kyiv. Soon after, dozens of policemen filled the area, ready to step in should things escalate, and more, strapped with AK-47s, manned checkpoints nearby.
Meanwhile, local residents stood near barricades that blocked the scene, cutting off a main artery in central Kyiv. Honking and ambulance sirens filled the air as the aftermath ensnared much of the city center into gridlock.
The Counteroffensive was on the scene and took photos near the strike, but was warned by a man who identified himself as an SBU officer not to take photos and to delete any previously taken.
The officer also demanded evidence of a media credential from The Counteroffensive’s reporter, asking whether he is Chinese. Informed that the reporter is American, the SBU officer said wryly, “well, I’m not even sure if the Americans are our allies anymore.”
After the paywall:
Where exactly the drone was targeted;
What was Zelenskyy’s reaction;
More on the building tension between SBU and Ukraine’s other intelligence agency.
