In a daytime attack on Monday, a Russian jet-powered drone struck the National Academy of Sciences building in Kyiv, setting the upper floors ablaze and forcing workers to escape by crawling out of windows and inching along narrow ledges to safety. The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. local time at the historic institution, which has been central to Ukraine’s scientific achievements for decades.
At least two people were killed in the strike, including an assistant to a prominent academic, and six others were injured, according to Kyiv officials. Some of the injured received treatment on the street outside the building, as firefighters worked through the afternoon to extinguish the fire. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed the casualties, while witnesses described harrowing scenes of staff navigating precariously along ledges approximately 50 feet above the street to reach rescue ladders.
The National Academy of Sciences, housed in a 19th-century structure originally built as a boarding school for girls, sustained significant damage to its upper floors. Employees lamented the destruction of offices and scientific equipment. “My office is gone now,” said Vira Yevhrafova, deputy chief scientist at the academy, describing the collapse of parts of the second floor.
This strike on the academy was part of a broader barrage of attacks launched by Russian forces across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The use of faster, harder-to-detect jet-powered drones has intensified air raids in recent weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted just over half of the drone attacks, a decline in effectiveness compared to encounters with slower propeller-driven UAVs.
Other locations hit in Kyiv included a pharmaceutical company, petrol stations, and a medical clinic. In the industrial city of Dnipro, a drone strike on a business center resulted in three fatalities. Ukrainian authorities also reported retaliatory strikes on Russian oil facilities and defense plants in the Krasnodar region.
Zelensky condemned the continued drone attacks as acts of terror and vowed a response, urging Ukraine’s international partners to recognize the human cost and support the country accordingly. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused the Kremlin of deliberately expanding the scope of attacks beyond acceptable limits.
Locals expressed frustration and sorrow over the attacks, highlighting the impact on daily life and the scientific community. “They want to frighten us and bring our lives to a halt,” said Kyiv resident Vira Balanovska, who witnessed the aftermath of the strike. Observers noted that the increasingly frequent strikes aim not only to destroy infrastructure but also to intimidate civilians and disrupt normal activities such as research, education, and work.
The attack on the National Academy of Sciences marks a grim milestone in Russia’s ongoing campaign against Ukraine, underscoring the escalating use of advanced drone technology and the growing toll on civilian institutions in the conflict’s capital.