Russia attacked with drones this Friday the building of the Ukrainian security service, in Kiiv, a complex near the Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site. Although at first it was reported that the president was with the ambassador, later sources from the Generalitat confirmed that he was visiting a hospital with Sister Lucía Caram and that at no time has the safety of the president or the rest of the delegation been affected. The new Spanish ambassador, Adela Díaz Bernárdez, was in a nearby building, presenting her credentials to President Volodímir Zelenski. All of them have emerged equally unharmed. Illa “roundly” condemned the attack in a publication in
"From Kiiv I strongly condemn the new Russian attack against the heart of the capital, next to the Saint Sophia Cathedral. It is an unacceptable escalation that threatens the civilian population, heritage and efforts to achieve peace. The defense of Ukraine is also the defense of Europe," declared the president in Ukraine.
The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, was also in Ukraine on an official visit, and the attack coincided with the last day of the institutional mission that took him to visit Sarajevo, Warsaw and Kiev. Collboni also considered the incident an “unacceptable escalation” that “returns to putting the civilian population at risk and distances a just and lasting peace.” He also added that what they have experienced today "confirms why Barcelona had to be here, because when Kiiv is attacked, Europe is attacked." “Barcelona will continue alongside Ukraine,” he stressed.
A dense column of black smoke rose in the center of Kyiv after the drone attack, marking a new escalation of the conflict. At least seven people were injured, according to the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has spoken about the attack on Telegram, confirming that the drone has “impacted” the building, in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral. He also said that the Russian widget was addressed “directly” to the office of the head of the security service and has announced that he has given instructions to respond to the Russian attack “in an appropriate and forceful manner and, if possible, in a symmetrical manner.”
During more than four and a half years of war with Russia, Ukrainian government buildings have rarely been damaged by drone and missile attacks.
The SBU is critical to Ukraine's war efforts, carrying out deep, high-impact strikes to damage the Russian war machine and its energy infrastructure.
“The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the Security Service in that building,” Zelensky said via the Telegram application. It was not immediately clear if the wounded included members of the SBU.
Zelensky noted that he ordered “an appropriate and tangible response and, as far as possible, a reflection of this attack, directed at the Russians once everything was ready.”
Numerous ambulances and emergency services were heading to the scene, located in the historic center of the city, near the Saint Sophia Cathedral, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The owner of a popular bakery, Zavertailo, stated on Telegram that his premises, located in front of the SBU building, were destroyed in the attack. A woman shouted into the phone that she had gone out for a moment to buy tobacco and that the explosion had startled her.
"I think (people) can get used to this. In the center of Kyiv, and in the center of Moscow. The situation will get worse, I am convinced of that," said Oleh, 33, who preferred not to give his last name.
The SBU is a huge, secretive agency responsible for ambitious operations against Russia, such as the 2022 bombing of a Russian bridge leading to occupied Crimea and a 2025 drone strike that hit Russian strategic bombers.
She is also widely considered one of the main perpetrators of a campaign of covert assassinations of senior Russian military commanders and other figures whom Ukraine accuses of committing war crimes. Russia has denounced these murders as terrorist attacks.
