KYIV — A Russian drone struck the main Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) headquarters in central Kyiv on Friday afternoon, Sept. 4, 2026, targeting a room used by acting SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He confirmed he had spoken with Poklad afterward and ordered an “appropriate, tangible” response that, where possible, mirrors the strike, with military support, BBC News and NV reported.

“The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building,” Zelenskyy said, according to the BBC. “I instructed Poklad to deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready. Our military will support this response.” NV’s translation of the same order put it as responding “appropriately, in a way they will feel and, if possible, in kind.” It is not clear whether Poklad was inside at the moment of impact; Ukrainska Pravda reported he was not in his office when the building was hit, NV said.

The SBU complex sits on Volodymyrska Street across from St. Sophia Cathedral. The BBC called the hit a rare successful Russian strike on a Ukrainian government building. Images shared online showed smoke pouring from windows on the front of the structure; firefighters worked the scene. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha branded the attack a “major escalation that demands resolute responses,” arguing Moscow struck “during a renewed push for peace.”

Casualty figures moved through the afternoon. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko initially spoke of five people hurt in the SBU attack, the BBC reported, and said a nearby café customer was taken to hospital. By about 5 p.m., NV reported nine people injured and seven hospitalized after the jet-powered drone strike, with damage to floor structure and an exterior wall. A Zavertailo café near the cathedral was also heavily damaged; co-owner Stanislav Zavertaylo told the BBC it was his third location hit since the full-scale invasion.

The strike landed amid another air-raid alert as Russia has pressed daytime jet-powered drone attacks. Separately, U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due in Moscow on Saturday to meet President Vladimir Putin and in Kyiv on Sunday to meet Zelenskyy, Axios reported via the BBC, as Trump administration peace talks continue without a breakthrough so far.

Sources