Russia fired its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine early Sunday, killing four people and setting government offices in Kyiv ablaze, an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky warned would prolong the war.
Flames could be seen rising from the roof of the sprawling government complex that houses Ukraine's cabinet of ministers in the heart of the city -- the first time it has been hit during the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in the Ukrainian capital, according to emergency services.
Russia has shown no sign of halting its onslaught despite efforts by the United States to broker a peace deal, and Kyiv residents have become hardened to the daily rhythm of strikes and alerts.
"This is already routine for us, unfortunately," Olga, a 30-year-old resident of a damaged building told AFP after the latest strikes.
Enemy 'terrorises'
Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.
It said it struck a plant and a logistics hub in Kyiv, with the Russian defence ministry saying "no strikes were carried out on other targets within the boundaries of Kyiv".
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted a video showing a damaged floor in the government building.
"We will restore the buildings," she said. "But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorises and kills our people every day throughout the country."
Russia fired at least 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine between late Saturday and early Sunday in a new record, according to the Ukrainian air force.
"Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war," Zelensky said.
He discussed the attack in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron and said France would help Ukraine strengthen its defence.
Macron was among European leaders condemning the attack, posting on X that Russia was "locking itself ever deeper into the logic of war and terror".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attacks "cowardly" while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen accused the Kremlin of "mocking diplomacy".
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was prepared to increase pressure on Russia by slapping tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil.
"The Russian economy will be in full collapse. And that will bring President (Vladimir) Putin to the table," Bessent told NBC television.
At least two people were killed in a strike west of Kyiv, prosecutors said.
More than two dozen were wounded in Kyiv, according to the emergency services.
Among them was a 24-year-old pregnant woman who delivered a premature baby shortly after the attack, with doctors fighting to save her life and that of her baby, state TV Suspilne reported.
Two more died and dozens were wounded in overnight strikes across the east and southeast, authorities said.
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