In 1898, the railway connected Moscow with Kaluga and Bryansk. A year later, in the area of Dorogomilovo, the "Moscow-Kyiv-Voronezh Railway Society" built the Bryansk Station, a long single-story wooden building. It did not match the scale and significance of passenger and freight transport from Moscow to the largest trade and industrial region of Russia. The project for the new station was developed by architects I.I. Rerberg and V.K. Oltarzhevsky with the participation of engineer V.G. Shukhov in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. Construction began in 1914 and was completed in 1918.

The station is designed in the neoclassical style with elements of Empire, its decoration resonates with the Triumphal Gates at Tverskaya Zastava Square and the monuments of Borodino Field. The composition of the station is based on the contrast between the tall tower and the horizontal body with a colonnade. The top of the tower is adorned with arched windows, a dome, and sculptures. The tower still houses the clock installed during the station's construction. These mechanical clocks, like the chimes on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, were manually adjusted until the abolition of the transition to summer and winter time. The Kremlin chimes and the Kyiv station clock are the only surviving mechanical clocks in Moscow. The decoration of the waiting halls corresponds to the exterior appearance of the station, and in some halls, wall and ceiling paintings have been preserved.

Adjacent to the station is a floating dock, the design of which is simple and bold: the space above the platforms is covered with glazed large-span steel arches, developed by V.G. Shukhov and executed by A.V. Bari's firm at the Bryansk plant. This elegant structure of glass and metal resembles a soaring metal dome.

Earlier, in 1911-1912, the Borodino Bridge was built according to the project of architect R.I. Klein, connecting the new station with the center of Moscow. The station and the bridge form a single architectural and memorial complex dedicated to the events of 1812.

In 1934, the station was renamed Kyiv, and this name has remained to this day. In 1938, a metro station "Kyivskaya" was built near the station. In 1952-1953, the "Kyivskaya" station of the Circle Line was built, the exit of which was combined with the station building.

In 2006, the nearest exit from the metro to Kyiv Station was designed in the style of the first stations of the Paris Metro, created according to the projects of architect Hector Guimard.

During the restoration carried out from 2013 to 2016, extensive work was done to restore elements of the facades. The majolica mosaic panels depicting St. George the Victorious and Archangel Michael, the clock faces on the tower, and the concrete sculptures "Labor and Harvest" were restored. During the restoration, the historical appearance of the decorative elements in the enfilade of the main building's halls was returned.

Kyiv Station became a laureate in three nominations of the "Moscow Restoration 2016" competition for the best restoration project, the best organization of repair and restoration work, and the high quality of this work.