Starmer fury as Putin 'sabotages hope of peace' after missiles hit Brit Council

SIR Keir Starmer accused Vladimir Putin of “sabotaging hopes of peace” after a British Council building was hit in Russian strikes on Kyiv.

- By John Varga

At least 21 people were killed, including four children, in the ferocious bombardment across the Ukrainian capital.

The Prime Minister said yesterday: “My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building.

“Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end.”

The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office yesterday to explain the attacks on the UK-run establishment, which is situated near a compound operated by the European Union in Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron also branded the strike one of “terror and barbarism”.

Missiles and drones rained down across Kyiv overnight on Wednesday and early yesterday, destroying buildings and forcing citizens to seek shelter in underground metro stations.

A Telegram channel linked to hard-line Russian MP Andrey Lugovoy — who is accused of poisoning dissident Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London in 2006 — celebrated the attack on the British Council building.