Zelensky Urges ‘Strong’ US Response After Russia’s Massive Strike on Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday appealed for a “strong” response from Washington after Russia unleashed its largest aerial barrage of the war, pounding Kyiv and other cities and killing at least four people.

“It is important that there is a broad response from partners to this attack today,” Zelensky said in his nightly address, warning that President Vladimir Putin was “testing the world.”

The strikes came weeks after US President Donald Trump and Putin failed to secure a ceasefire at their August 15 meeting. Since then, Moscow has intensified attacks, with Ukraine’s air force reporting a record launch of 810 drones and 13 missiles overnight.

Flames engulfed the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers’ building in central Kyiv — the first time the sprawling government complex has been hit since the war began three and a half years ago. Drone strikes also damaged high-rise apartments across the capital, while further attacks in the east and southeast left at least two more dead and dozens injured.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko shared video of the government building’s charred interior. “We will restore the buildings,” she said. “But we cannot bring back lost lives.”

The Kremlin insisted it had only struck a plant and logistics hub in Kyiv, denying civilian targeting.

Western leaders swiftly condemned the assault. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to boost Ukraine’s defenses, calling Russia’s actions proof it was “locking itself ever deeper into war and terror.” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded the strikes “cowardly,” while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen accused Moscow of “mocking diplomacy.”

In Washington, Trump said he was “not happy with the whole situation” and signaled readiness to impose new sanctions on Moscow. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the US could escalate measures, including tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil.

The attack also coincided with a pledge by more than two dozen European nations to oversee any eventual peace deal, with some indicating willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine — a move Putin has threatened to treat as hostile.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry highlighted the human and symbolic toll, noting that seven horses were killed at an equestrian club. “The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives — human or animal — every single day,” it said.

Despite Trump’s repeated attempts to broker peace, Russia still occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, making it Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.