Ukraine under the bombs of Moscow. A Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU (Union Security Service) in Kiev, opposite the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. The attack provoked an immediate reaction from Zelensky who warned the Kremlin, promising an adequate reaction.
Zelensky: “Russian raid against 007 base in Kiev”
After the Russian raid on the secret service headquarters in Kiev Zelensky “spoke with the head of the SBU Oleksandr Poklad. All emergency services are on site. All those affected will be provided with the necessary assistance”. “The drone – the leader of Kiev writes on Telegram – was sent directly to the office of the head of the SBU in this building. He gave the task to the Depositary of respond appropriatelyconcretely and, if possible, replicate this blow to the Russians, when everything is ready. Our military will support this response.”
The ‘internal war in Ukrainian intelligence
The blow scored by the Kremlin is the external front but there is also an internal ‘war’ between the various pieces of intelligenceand the departments in Ukraine responsible for state security. A friendly fire which infuriated the leader of Kiev. Volodymyr Zelensky is in fact grappling with the excesses of his security services after a firefight between rival agencies prompted him to remove some from office senior officials.
Last Wednesday in Kiev, in broad daylight, agents of themilitary intelligence (GUR) and del State Security Service (SBU) shot at each other and several were injured. Last night Zelensky declared that “both agencies they must assume their own responsibility: they acted in an absolutely unacceptable manner.”
“It is important to ascertain the truth and prevent situations like this from happening again,” he said, adding that the actions of the leaders of both agencies will be “evaluated” and that “those responsible for this matter will be removed from office”. According to Ukrainian media, the clash could be linked to the detention by the SBU of a deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) – a battalion of anti-Kremlin Russians fighting for Kiev under the command of GUR.
A member of the GUR, identified as Sergiy Ivanov, arrested after the shooting, was released by a Kiev court, as reported by several Ukrainian media, but with the obligation to communicate his whereabouts. An SBU officer will also have to appear in court. The SBU stated that it conducted a “fight against sabotage” to “thwart an assassination” ordered by Russia, claiming to have discovered contacts between the commander and the Russian secret services.
The GUR, for its part, spoke of a “targeted disinformation campaign” against itself. Both agencies play a central role in Kiev’s war effort and saw their powers expand significantly during the Russian invasion
Ukraine under a rain of bombs
It was another night of Russian attacks on all of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian media, two policemen lost their lives and one was injured in the region of Dnipro. At least one victim too Odessa, where residential buildings were hit. Without stopping the raids on Kiev, with at least 14 injured.
Ukrainian attacks, three more dead
Ukrainian forces, however, targeted during the night several targets near Sochia Black Sea resort much loved by Russians and where President Vladimir Putin has one of his residences.
According to Ukrinform, it was attacked a Moscow anti-aircraft base in Sirius, near the Psou River, on the border with Abkhazia. According to analysts, that is where the Russian S-300 or S-400 anti-aircraft missile system is located. After the raid a fire broke out. Also on fire fuel depotwith columns of smoke visible from kilometers away.
Three people died and 14 were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks on Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, made this known in a statement. The raids damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
US negotiators soon in Moscow
American negotiators Steve Witkoff e Jared Kushner they will be Saturday and Sunday first in Moscow and then in Kiev. Tass reported it. Yesterday the Ukrainian president, Volodymiyr Zelensky, had announced an imminent visit by the envoy and the son-in-law of the American president Donald Trump to Kiev. The first stop, however, will be Moscow.
“The EU supports and welcomes all diplomatic efforts for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In this context, we also consider the visit of US negotiators to Kiev as a further step forward in their diplomatic efforts,” he said Christian Wigandthe spokesperson of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs, in the daily press briefing, answering a question on the arrival of American negotiators in Moscow. “We are constantly in contact with the United States and with all partners working towards this goal,” concluded the European spokesperson.