International condemnation is growing after Moscow’s forces launched a major attack on Kyiv last night, killing at least 21 people and striking an EU building and the British Council. Follow updates.
Thursday 28 August 2025 23:02, UK
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We’re pausing our coverage for now, and we’ll be back with more updates tomorrow.
Russia launched its second-largest attack of the war on Kyiv, with 598 drones and 31 missiles being fired into the Ukrainian capital.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has said 21 people died, with a two-year-old among them.
European leaders condemn attack
EU offices and a British Council building were also damaged in the attack, which prompted a chorus of condemnation from leaders.
Speaking after the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is still interested in negotiations to meet its aims.
“The special military operation continues,” he said, referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which it launched in February 2022.
“You see that strikes on Russian infrastructure facilities are also continuing, and often Russian civilian infrastructure is targeted by the Kyiv regime.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador to the UK arrived at the Foreign Office after being summoned following the attack.
As Andrey Kelin arrived in his vehicle, the window came down in front of the media, which is not usual when diplomats arrive. He did not speak.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the “killing and destruction must stop”, as he confirmed our report that Kelin has been summoned.
Watch: Summoned Russian ambassador arrives at UK Foreign Office
Vladimir Putin will be in China next week along with Kim Jong Un for a major military parade in Beijing.
North Korean state media has announced the dictator will make a rare trip abroad as China marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Putin’s attendance was already confirmed.
North Korean troops have been fighting Ukraine on the battlefield, in support of Russia.
China, meanwhile, has friendly relations with Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy just today called on Beijing to “react” after Moscow’s latest attack on Kyiv – see our 6.49 post.
In a diplomatic development, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new ambassador to the US.
Olha Stefanishyna, a former top cabinet minister, has been given tasks for “reinvigorating the work of our embassy”, he said.
She takes over from Oksana Markarova, who held the position for six years, more than half of which covered the full-scale war with Russia.
“Much of Ukraine’s long-term security depends on relations with America,” he said.
Stefanishyna has served in Zelenskyy’s team as justice minister and as deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, playing a major part in the country’s integration into Western institutions.
In Kyiv, all sorts of rescue operations have been carried out after last night’s Russian attacks.
In these pictures, a helicopter can be seen collecting and carrying water to fight fires in Ukraine’s capital city.
According to a report in The New York Times, Russia or its proxies have been flying surveillance drones over routes used to transport US military supplies through Germany.
Citing US and Western officials, the report says Moscow has been collecting intelligence that could be used to “bolster the Kremlin’s sabotage campaign” and “assist its troops in Ukraine”.
US and German officials have been “discussing Russian sabotage efforts”, the newspaper added.
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has not had time to read the story in detail.
“But it’s hard to imagine,” he said.
“Because then the Germans would have seen it clearly, and they would hardly have kept quiet.
“So, of course, all this looks more like another newspaper fake.”
Ukraine has summoned Hungary’s ambassador over what it described as “discrimination” against ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.
The country’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said that the decision is particularly over “our Hungarian-descent defender who was banned from entering the country of his ancestors”.
He was referring to the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, an ethnic Hungarian who Budapest said it was blocking over his role in attacking the Druzhba oil pipeline (see 15.56 post).
Zelenskyy hit back, accusing Hungary of “shifting blame” for the war on Ukraine (see 17.19 post).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said security guarantees for Ukraine will be set out on paper next week.
Ukraine’s president posted on social media after his meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying the topic was discussed “extensively”.
“President Erdogan informed me that he is involving his minister of defence in the process to explore how Turkey can contribute to ensuring security, particularly in the Black Sea,” he wrote.
What could security guarantees look like?
Security guarantees have long been talked about as a way of ensuring peace in Ukraine when fighting comes to an end.
Ultimately, troops alone are unlikely to be enough of a deterrent for Vladimir Putin, military analyst Sean Bell said.
“This is all about credibility and I don’t think boots on the ground is a credible answer.”
Stationing soldiers along Ukraine’s 1,000-mile border with Russia would require around 100,000 soldiers at a time, which would have to be trained, deployed, and rotated, requiring 300,000 in total.
The entire UK Army would only make up 10% of that, with France likely able to contribute a further 10%, Bell said.
Russia’s overnight strikes on Kyiv has been met with a chorus of condemnation from Ukraine’s allies.
Here’s a summary of their reaction, which we have been bringing you through the day…
By David Blevins, US correspondent in Washington
“Not happy… but not surprised” seems a tame response from the White House to the latest deadly attacks in Kyiv.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t dwell on the deaths of 19 people in the second worst aerial bombardment of the war.
Instead, she moved swiftly to the issue of Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure – specifically, oil refineries – in recent weeks.
“Perhaps both sides are not ready for it to end,” she added.
That focus on “both sides” avoids rocking the boat with Vladimir Putin and the obvious follow-up questions about further sanctions.
It’s three weeks since President Trump vowed such sanctions, nearly two weeks since he met Putin in Alaska.
The “great progress” he reported after their summit and hopes of a breakthrough after his meeting with UK and EU leaders has all but evaporated.
But he’s “watching intently” says Leavitt, and will say more on this issue later today.
Two more people are known to have died in Moscow’s attack on Kyiv last night, taking the total toll to at least 21.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine gave the update on Telegram. We already knew that four of the dead were children, including a two-year-old.
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