Russian drone hits SBU headquarters in Kyiv
Witkoff and Kushner are reported to visit Moscow Saturday and Kyiv Sunday.
A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in central Kyiv on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The drone hit the SBU building on Volodymyrska Street, opposite St Sophia Cathedral, and was aimed at the office of security chief Oleksandr Poklad, Zelensky said. Poklad was not harmed. Zelensky said he ordered Poklad to deliver an "appropriate, tangible response" once ready, with military support.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the strike a "major escalation" and said Moscow launched it during a renewed push for peace. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said several people were injured, according to reporting that followed the attack. Smoke was seen from the building while much of the facade otherwise looked intact, which matched accounts of a precise hit on one office area.
The strike landed as US mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are reported to visit Moscow on Saturday and Kyiv on Sunday for peace talks. Axios, cited by the BBC, said the pair would meet President Vladimir Putin and then Zelensky. Russia's TASS quoted a source on arrivals around 5-6 September. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was more cautious in public comments and said he would not announce anything ahead of contacts.
Hitting the SBU headquarters is a different signal from another night of citywide drones. The agency runs deep strikes and intelligence work that Russia wants to disrupt, and doing it in the heart of Kyiv, opposite a landmark cathedral, is meant to be seen.
It also lands on the eve of reported US shuttle diplomacy. Zelensky has already asked Russia to halt attacks while US envoys visit. A strike on Poklad's office answers that request with the opposite message, and it raises the cost of any photo-op that looks like progress.
Watch whether Witkoff and Kushner still make both stops, and whether Ukraine's promised "mirror" response stays limited or widens the exchange. Any delay or cancellation of the Kyiv leg would tell you how much security risk is shaping the talks.