Kyiv. Russia launched its biggest air strike on Ukraine since the start of the war on Sunday morning. At least two people were killed in the attack and a fire broke out in the Ukrainian government seat in Kiev, officials said.

According to an AFP reporter, a fire broke out on the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet building and thick smoke billowed over the capital. Emergency services confirmed that several high-rise buildings in Kyiv had been damaged by the drone strike.

Russia has shown no flexibility despite the United States brokering the peace deal in an effort to end the three-and-a-half-year war. European nations recently pledged to deploy patrol forces to implement a peace deal led by France and Britain, but Moscow has said it is unacceptable.

The attack on Ukraine’s cabinet compound was the first such attack in the war. Afp journalists who arrived at the scene saw rescuers trying to douse the flames by pouring water through helicopters.

“The roof and top floor of the building were damaged due to the enemy attack. “We will rebuild the buildings but we will not be able to restore the lost lives,” Prime Minister Yulia Sveridenko said in telegram. Our enemies are terrorising our people every day. ’

Russia fired at least 805 drones and 13 missiles into Ukraine from Saturday night to Sunday morning, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Infant death

AFP reporters heard huge explosions in the capital on Sunday morning. A mother and her two-month-old baby were killed in an attack on a nine-story residential building west of Kyiv, prosecutors said. According to police, more than a dozen people were injured.

Ukraine’s rescue service has released pictures of the building’s fire and smoke emanating from it. More than two dozen European countries have pledged to patrol a possible deal to end the war. Some have even promised to send underground troops.

Kiev has said security guarantees backed by Western forces will be essential to ensure Russia does not attack again in the future. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any Western forces in Ukraine will be unacceptable and will be considered a “legitimate” target.

U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up efforts to end the war in recent weeks, but little progress has been made so far.

The Russian military has so far occupied about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions displaced and many parts of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed in the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict. The conflict is europe’s bloodiest war since World War II.