Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that a Russian drone damaged the Qatari embassy building in Kyiv. This occurred during a wave of airstrikes launched by Russian forces overnight Thursday-Friday.
Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that the attack targeted a diplomatic building belonging to a country playing a key mediating role. He added that “Qatar is helping to mediate talks with Russia on a prisoner exchange.” There has been no official comment yet from Moscow or Doha regarding the incident.
Russia announces the use of “Oreshnik”
In response, the Russian military confirmed carrying out a large-scale airstrike overnight. It revealed the use of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile against targets inside Ukrainian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the strike targeted energy facilities in several regions. It also targeted sites it claimed were used for the production of Ukrainian drones.
Moscow’s justifications and Kyiv’s denial
Moscow justified the attack as retaliation for what it described as a Ukrainian attempt to target one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences in the Novgorod region in late December. Kyiv categorically denied these accusations, calling them “baseless claims.”
