Russian strikes on Ukraine kill 21, drawing global condemnation

KYIV/washington (TIP)- World leaders condemned Russia’s massive missile and drone strikes that killed at least 21 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union’s mission and British Council offices in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Thursday, Aug 28.
Thursday’s attack was the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since US President Donald Trump met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
President Trump was unhappy but not surprised by Russia’s deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the White House said, while urging “both sides” to end the war started by Moscow’s invasion.
“He was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised. These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Putin was “sabotaging” hopes of peace following the “senseless” strikes. The Russian ambassador to London was summoned to the foreign office.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said two strikes landed 20 seconds apart about 50 metres from the EU Mission to Ukraine building in Kyiv. She said no staff were injured in the strike.
“Just spoke with President Zelensky, then President Trump, following the massive strike on Kyiv which also hit our EU offices. Putin must come to the negotiating table,” European Commission head von der Leyen wrote on X.
“No diplomatic mission should ever be a target. In response, we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels,” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said Thursday in a post on X.
The British Council, which promotes cultural relations and educational opportunities, also said its Kyiv office had been “severely damaged” in the attack and was closed to visitors until further notice.
Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine slammed Russian strikes on Kyiv, saying they threatened the US president’s proposals to end the Ukraine war. “These egregious attacks threaten the peace that @POTUS is pursuing,” Keith Kellogg said on X, noting that they hit “innocent civilians” and EU and British missions in the Ukrainian capital.
Russia’s latest strikes on Kyiv show that it is not interested in negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “Russia showed its true face” in its latest overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.