Russian drone strike hits Kyiv security service HQ ahead of US peace talks

A Russian drone strike set fire to Ukraine's SBU security service headquarters in Kyiv on Friday, targeting the office of its acting head, Oleksandr Poklad, who was unharmed. President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a "tangible" and proportionate response to the attack. The strike occurred as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner prepared to visit Moscow and Kyiv for peace talks, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha calling it a "major escalation" that exposed Russia's rejection of diplomacy. Zelensky said Ukraine would refrain from airstrikes during negotiations and urged Russia to reciprocate. The attack follows intensified drone warfare as the conflict nears five years, with jet-powered drones and daily air-raid sirens now common in Kyiv. Separately, an investigation is underway into a dispute between the SBU and the HUR military agency over the detention of a Russian nationalist activist.