Russia hits SBU headquarters in Ukraine with drone, injuring five people

For the first time since the start of the Ukrainian War, Russia has struck the headquarters of Ukraine's powerful Security Service. A drone targeted this Friday (4) the office of Oleksandr Poklad, the agency's acting director, who was not in the room at the time of the action.

Another five people were injured, according to President Volodimir Zelenski wrote in X. He reported having spoken to Poklad. Columns of smoke were visible rising from the building, which is on central Volodimirska Street.

Attacks on government buildings are rare in the conflict, despite the defense made by Russian hardliners for Vladimir Putin to directly target Zelensky. The most famous incident occurred last year, when the ministries building was hit by an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

The SBU, the Ukrainian acronym for the body led by Poklad, is the country's most important government agency. It works as an internal security service, succeeding the former Soviet KGB, but also as a military unit.

The agency controls the Alfa Group, responsible for the strategy of missile attacks, drones and infiltrations into Russian territory, such as the current successful campaign against refineries and logistics companies in Putin's country.

In 2025, the group had one of its biggest symbolic victories, when it attacked five Russian air bases with small drones that were smuggled hidden in the retractable roofs of trucks, destroying perhaps 10% of Russia's bomber force.

The Russians have not commented on the specific attack. The action occurred after the Zelensky government warned the International Civil Aviation Organization so that the UN body instructs companies to avoid all Russian airspace. The reason would be the intensification of the use of drones and missiles precisely under orders from the SBU.

Russia reacted this Friday, sending a note to the organization to say that the threat "has no legal force and distorts the real situation." Since the war, due to sanctions, Western airlines and airlines from Asian countries such as Japan have stopped flying to Russia.

To complicate matters, the largest country in the world was an inescapable route connecting West and East, and detours made around the edges of its airspace became the norm. Ukraine and the Russian south are also shunned by military activity.

Some companies, such as Turkish Airlines and Emirates, continued with routes to Moscow and other cities, diverting from critical areas to avoid the risk of having an aircraft hit.

The destruction of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 in eastern Ukraine in 2014 worries companies, as does the accidental shooting down of an Embraer-190 from Azerbaijan in 2024.

So far, no major operator that still flies to Russia has responded to Ukraine's request, but at least one small company, Air Tanzania, has suspended its flights.

In the diplomatic field, the expectation is for the United States to return to the conflict mediation game this weekend. According to both the government in Kiev and the Russian agency Tass, negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit Moscow and Kiev.

The trip, however, still depends on security arrangements, according to Reuters, which were redoubled after the attack on the SBU. Zelensky proposed a ceasefire to Putin to guarantee the visit.

If implemented, it will resume a dynamic interrupted in February, when the Donald Trump administration turned its attention to the war started against Iran.

The actual resumption of peace negotiations is uncertain. Putin has made ambiguous statements in recent days, alternating openness to talk with refusal to discuss with Zelensky.

The Russian is under pressure for the success of the Ukrainian campaign, but he has also doubled the cost imposed on his rivals. Putin believes, according to observers, that it is still possible to declare victory if he completes the conquest of the Donetsk region (east).