British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and EU leaders accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “sabotaging peace” after a deadly overnight strike that killed at least 17 people in Kyiv also hit the offices of both the British and the EU council offices.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas slammed the attack — calling it “a deliberate choice to escalate and mock peace efforts.”
Russia unleashed one of its largest-ever strike on the Ukrainian capital overnight, firing 629 drones and missiles and killing at least 17 people, including four children, officials said.
It’s also the most devastating strike since Putin met with President Trump for talks about ending the Ukraine war.
In the massive attack, at least two missiles were reported to have hit the UK and EU council headquarters, in what European leaders have slammed as a “deliberate” strike that will only strengthen support for Ukraine.
“My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building,” Starmer wrote on X.
“Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end,” the PM added.
Scott McDonald, the CEO of the British Council — which offers educational courses and English language programs for Ukrainians — confirmed that one of the guards stationed in the building was injured in the blast.
Britain’s outrage was echoed by the EU, with Katarina Mathernova, the ambassador to Kyiv, claiming the attack was a direct message to Europe over the aid it has provided Ukraine over the last three years.
“The war touched the European Union. And no one will convince me that this was not Putin’s intention,” Mathernova said in a statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she has spoken to Kyiv and Washington regarding the attack, reiterating calls for the international community to arm Ukraine so it may serve as a “steel porcupine” that can defend the continent from Russian aggression.
“Putin must come to the negotiating table,” Von der Leyen said. “We must secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine with firm and credible security guarantees that will turn the country into a steel porcupine.
“Europe will fully play its part,” she added.
German and French officials also condemned the strikes, with European leaders accusing Putin of undermining the latest efforts to reach a diplomatic end to the war.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was “not pleased” by the attack, but nor was the president surprised given the state of the war and Moscow’s ever-escalating drone attacks.
“He was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised. These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” Leavitt told reporters.
The overnight strikes began at around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and carried on into the morning, with Kyiv seeing the worst of the damage.
The strike was the second-largest aerial attack on the nation’s capital since the war began in 2022, and it’s the biggest since Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska.
“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,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday on X.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war. And this means that Russia still does not fear the consequences.
“Russia still takes advantage of the fact that at least part of the world turns a blind eye to murdered children and seeks excuses for Putin,” he added.