In a video posted on social media on September 7, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko appeared in the damaged corridor of a government building near Doc Lap Square, Kiev. This is the result of an attack from Russia, she said. The fire covered about 800m2".
Sviridenko also posted photos showing several rooms covered in smoke, ceilings and burnt roofs, along with a call for the West to help close the Ukrainian sky and increase sanctions against Russia. She said this was proof that Moscow does not want peace at all.
Contrary to the above statement, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Telegram that a government office building caught fire after debris from the UAV fell, as a result of air defense systems firing down.
Some Ukrainian news agencies such as TSN and Focus also simultaneously reported that the cause was not a direct hit, but a UAV fell on the upper floor of the building. Images from the rescue team show that only a few windows were on fire, the roof was slashed, while the wall structure and the main frame were almost un damaged.
In the video released by Sviridenko, many people also found no trace of a powerful explosion or a major fire as she described.
On the same day, September 7, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement denying the accusation of airstrikes on the Ukrainian government building overnight, affirming: "The high-precision strikes were only targeted at UAV production, repair and storage facilities, as well as some military airports. There were no attacks on government or civil works in the inner city of Kiev.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the two main targets in the airstrike were the Kiev-67 industrial plant in the west of the capital Kiev and a logistics facility in the southern part of the city. Russia has repeatedly stressed that it only attacked military infrastructure, and accused Ukraine of deploying air defences close to residential areas, causing debris to fall on houses and offices.
The contradiction between the Kiev government's statements and on-site evidence has sparked fierce controversy in public opinion. Some experts say that Ukraine tends to blame Russia for all the damage to maintain diplomatic pressure and seek more international aid.
Meanwhile, similar incidents are not uncommon. Kiev has repeatedly accused Russia of causing civilian casualties, but evidence has shown that the main cause was missile debris or UAVs shot down by Ukrainian air defense. These incidents have caused residential areas and high-rise buildings to catch fire, raising concerns about placing defense systems too close to the urban center.
Regardless of the real cause, the fire at the government building in Kiev was quickly exploited in both sides' information strategies.
Ukraine used the incident to call on the West to increase air defense aid and extend sanctions against Russia. In contrast, Moscow asserted that this was evidence that Kiev deliberately "took advantage of public opinion" and put civilians at risk.
