EU summons Russian envoy over delegation building damaged in Kyiv strike

The European Union is summoning Moscow's envoy in Brussels after an EU mission building was damaged in a Russian strike on Kyiv on Aug. 28, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said.

"No diplomatic mission should ever be a target," Kallas said on X.

The meeting with Karen Malayan, the Russian charge d'affaires in the EU, is expected to take place later on Aug. 28, Euronews reported.

Overnight, Russia launched its deadliest attack against the Ukrainian capital since July, firing nearly 600 drones and 31 missiles. At least 23 people were killed, including four children, and 38 people were injured.

The barrage damaged hundreds of buildings around Kyiv, including the office of the EU mission to Ukraine. Pictures shared online by Ukrainian and EU authorities show shattered windows and the damaged interior of the delegation's building.

Two missiles hit within a distance of 50 meters of the delegation within 15 seconds, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, noting that no staff members were harmed. An EU spokesperson told journalists that the mission remains operational.

In a press statement after the strike, von der Leyen said the attack "shows that the Kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorize Ukraine, blindly killing civilians, men, women, and children, and even targeting the European Union."

The European Commission chief promised to ramp up pressure on Russia through the upcoming 19th package of sanctions and to continue using the frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine in its defense and reconstruction.

Separately, the U.K. summoned a Russian envoy after the British Council building was damaged in the same attack.

This is not the first case of foreign diplomatic missions suffering damage during Russian aerial strikes on Ukraine. A building housing the embassies of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Montenegro was heavily damaged during a Russian strike on Kyiv on Dec. 20, 2024.

The latest Russian attack comes amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a speedy peace deal in Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and escalated drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian cities.

"These Russian missiles and attack drones today are a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table."

‘Moscow’s true answer to peace efforts’ — Russian mass attack on Kyiv kills 23, including children

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat