Zelenskyy proposes ceasefire with Russia amid SBU headquarters strike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a ceasefire with Russia as US envoys visit Moscow and Kyiv, saying he hopes to host the American officials in Kyiv in the “coming days”. This comes as a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, accusing Moscow of directly targeting the personal office of the SBU chief. The daytime strike came two days before US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to visit Kyiv for the first time, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP. Zelenskyy said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an "appropriate, tangible response" to the strike, while Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga described it as a "major escalation". "Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral," Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. Russia has intensified its daytime strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, at times using jet-powered drones that are more difficult for air defences to intercept. However, attacks on government buildings in central Kyiv, which are heavily fortified and surrounded by security barricades, remain rare. Witkoff and Kushner were due to visit Kyiv for the first time, a Ukrainian official told AFP. US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s four-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted its focus towards the war with Iran. The conflict has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops.