The National Academy of Sciences building in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has been damaged in a massive Russian attack. Following Tuesday’s strike, Russian drone and missile attacks continued across various parts of Ukraine, including the capital. Reports indicate that several people were killed and many others injured.
As the Russia-Ukraine war—considered the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II—enters its fifth year, incidents of Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv are on the rise.
On Tuesday, Kyiv once again came under Russian attack following an air raid alert. The warning had alerted the city to incoming drones. Video footage circulating online shows a high-speed drone striking the National Academy of Sciences building, causing an explosion and sending thick black smoke billowing into the blue sky.
Volodymyr Horbulin, former Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told the state broadcaster Suspilne that he was working at the Academy during the attack and sustained minor injuries. However, he reported that his assistant, who was near the building, was killed in the strike.
On Monday night, AFP journalists in Kyiv reported hearing several explosions. At the time, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that ballistic missiles were heading toward the city. The National Academy of Sciences building is located near the German Embassy, a cathedral, the National Opera House, and various government buildings.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian attacks have previously targeted cultural sites, government buildings, and schools in Kyiv. In a statement, the Academy condemned the attack as “Russian terror” and “barbarism,” noting that the strike targeted “peaceful people” who were simply at their workplaces. The organization has also alleged that Ukraine’s science, education, and culture sectors have been targeted in the attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a medical facility was damaged during another attack on the capital.
A Russian attack on a business center in the central city of Dnipro left four people dead and at least 19 injured. A residential area in the eastern city of Kharkiv was also struck; however, casualty figures for that location were not immediately available.
Officials reported that Russian strikes damaged an ice cream factory in the Zhytomyr region (west of Kyiv), as well as residential buildings in Sumy (north), Rivne (northwest), and Odesa (south).
Thirty civilians were injured in a Russian attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. The regional military administration stated that three of the injured are in serious condition.
Meanwhile, on Monday, a Russian jet-powered drone struck a Ukrainian village near the Polish border. A Ukrainian regional official reported that a border checkpoint was damaged in the incident.
