On Saturday night and Sunday, Russia deployed 810 drones and decoys, according to Ukraine’s air force. They managed to intercept 747 drones and four missiles.

The building is the home of Ukraine’s cabinet and its ministers. Police blocked access to the building as fire trucks and ambulances arrived.

Correspondents from the Associated Press witnessed smoke emanating from Kyiv’s government office rooftop, though it was unclear if it was caused by a direct hit or falling debris. Such an incident could signify a significant intensification in Russia’s air assaults, which had previously avoided the city’s central government buildings.

Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed that Sunday’s drone attack was the most extensive by Russia since their full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia also launched 13 missiles, and impacts from nine missiles and 54 drones were recorded in 33 different locations throughout Ukraine.

“Together with France, we are preparing new measures to strengthen our defence,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the attack resulted in four deaths and 44 injuries. He also mentioned discussing the incident with French President Emmanuel Macron over the phone.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also condemned the attack.

Earlier on Sunday, Macron criticized Russia for “indiscriminately striking” and noted that Moscow is increasingly entrenched in the mindset of war and terror. Starmer condemned the attacks as “cowardly,” accusing Putin of acting with a sense of impunity and dismissed any sincerity about peace. He emphasized the need for unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty now more than ever.

Multiple locations hit in Kyiv

In the Ukrainian capital, the attack killed two people and wounded 20 others, according to city officials.

Those killed were a mother and her three-month-old child, whose bodies were dug out of the rubble, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. At least 10 locations in Kyiv were damaged, he added.

Direct drone hits struck a nine-story residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district and a four-story residential building in Darnytskyi district.

“I just have no more words left to express what I feel towards Russia,” said Olha, a 77-year-old Kyiv resident whose apartment was damaged. She didn’t give her last name.

“Although I’m an ethnic Russian myself, from outside Moscow. And I’ve never thought my people would be capable of this.”

Zelenskyy called for sanctions on Russia and for strengthening Ukraine’s air defences.

“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have started long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” he said.

“The world can force the Kremlin criminals to stop killing; only political will is needed.”

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted a video of herself inside the damaged government building, where she said a fire covering 800 square metres was put out.

“For the first time since the start of full-scale invasion, Russians struck our government headquarters in the centre of Kyiv,” she said.

“It looks like Russia is not seeking peace and is not ready for negotiations. We call our partners to help close our sky. Let’s strengthen sanctions against Russia. Let’s create the security guarantees system that will help stop the enemy,” she said.

Russia insists it targeted military infrastructure

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday that it used “high-precision weapons” and drones to strike drone assembly and storage sites, military air bases in central, southern and eastern Ukraine, an industrial facility and a logistics facility on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The ministry said that “all designated objects were hit” and claimed that “no strikes were carried out on other objects within the borders of Kyiv”, in what could be a reference to the damaged government building.

Sunday’s attack is the second mass Russian drone and missile attack to target Kyiv in the span of two weeks, as hopes for peace talks wane.

It comes after European leaders pressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to work to end the war after 26 of Ukraine’s allies pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once the fighting ends.

Zelenskyy has said he is ready to meet Putin to negotiate a peace agreement, and has urged US President Donald Trump to put punishing sanctions on Russia to push it to end the war.

Moscow has repeatedly objected to any Western troop deployments to Ukraine and pushed back against a Putin-Zelenskyy summit, saying lower-level talks must take place first.

Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery in Russia

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted a total of 100 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Azov Sea between 8pm on Saturday (3am on Saturday AEST) and 6.30am on Sunday (1.30pm AEST).

Most were downed over the Belgorod, Voronezh and Krasnodar regions near the border with Ukraine, according to the statement.

In the Krasnodar region, falling drone debris sparked a brief fire at an oil refinery, local authorities said. In the Belgorod and the Voronezh regions, two people were injured, officials said.

The Russian Defence Ministry also said Sunday that its troops seized the village of Khoroshe in the Dnipropetrovsk region. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine.