KYIV — A Russian drone blasted the headquarters of Ukraine’s security services on September 4, injuring several people, just hours ahead of an expected visit by US special envoys seeking ways of ending the Kremlin’s full-scale war on its neighbor.
“Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, referring to the main building of the domestic intelligence agency.
“The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the security service in that building,” he said, adding that SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad was not in his office at the time.
Zelenskyy said he ordered Poklad to “adequately, noticeably and, if possible, to mirror” the Russians’ actions “when everything is prepared. “
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least seven people were injured in the strike. It was not immediately disclosed if SBU members were among the injured.
The normal high-security measures around the sensitive building prevented journalists from viewing the damage to the sprawling site. Heavy black smoke was seen above the city center following the attack.
Experts See ‘Escalation’
Heather A. Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, said the attack signaled a ramping up of the Kremlin’s air offensive against Ukraine.
“This was a clear escalation of Russia as it follows along six days of intense bombing,” she told RFE/RL.
“I just believe they are they are accelerating their efforts just as they see Ukraine’s drones and so-called long-range sanctions having a significant impact in Russia.”
Conley said the strike “absolutely contradicts” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement a day earlier suggesting that he is open to negotiation again.
Tressa Guenov, former senior Pentagon and State Department official, told RFE/RL that Russia’s “daytime strike on Ukraine’s SBU headquarters in Kyiv is part of an increasingly escalatory dynamic and mounting strikes against the capital.”
“One can guess that Moscow has always likely had plans on the shelf aimed at SBU targets, but hitting the headquarters today shows that Russia is willing to push new boundaries amidst an uncertain diplomatic situation.”
“For Ukraine, this attack is case in point why it needs urgent air defense interceptors,” added Guenov, who is currently a senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council.
Attack Follows Street Gun Battle
The attack comes two days after a dramatic shoot-out between the SBU and Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the HUR, on the streets of the capital.
Their firefight erupted on September 2, but details of the incident and the reasons for the gunbattle remain murky.
Zelenskyy took swift action, firing the deputy heads of each organization on September 3 — declaring “both agencies must be held accountable.” He’d previously said the gunfight was “disgraceful.”
The September 4 strike on the SBU building marked a continuation of Russia’s campaign of daytime attack in and around Kyiv — after four years of almost daily overnight strikes. It comes as Russia’s ground offensive in eastern Ukraine stalls amid heavy losses on both sides.
Russia has turned to launching jet-propelled drones capable of flying nearly twice as fast as older models, forcing Kyiv to adapt defenses in the battle against high-tech weapons and prompting leaders to plea for additional air defense weapons from Western partners.
Envoys Expected In Moscow, Kyiv
Meanwhile, a US official confirmed to RFE/RL that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow and Kyiv “in the coming days,” echoing comments by Zelenskyy a day earlier following his calls with the two Americans.
Moscow has not confirmed that the envoys will visit Russia, although Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the two “might” visit Moscow as early as September 5.
It was not immediately clear if the envoys would first visit Moscow or Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will send Witkoff and Kushner to Kyiv in the coming weeks in what would mark their first visit to Ukraine since taking leading roles in the administration’s efforts to end the war.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe on August 25 met with the heads of the Russian intelligence and security services in Moscow. The US spy agency did not disclose the full agenda, but the Kremlin said Ratcliffe did not meet with Putin.
Ratcliffe reportedly warned Russian officials against attacking or testing NATO, with particular concern about the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The AEI’s Conley said that “it’s absolutely unclear to me the next steps on US policy toward the conflict.”
“It’s not clear if the US is willing to place pressure, more pressure on Russia,” she said, citing confusion over a Russian sanctions bill currently on an uncertain course in the US Congress and uncertainty over potential licensing of the production of Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
“There’s just a lack of clarity right now on on how the US is planning to proceed,” she added.
