Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv, Kill at Least Two in Academy Attack

Russian forces have launched fresh strikes on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, hours after a drone attack on the National Academy of Sciences killed at least two people.

The attack on Monday set part of the historic Academy of Sciences building ablaze. Emergency officials said one of the victims was recovered from the rubble later in the evening.

Footage shared online showed a fast-moving drone striking the building at a steep angle before exploding, sending smoke into the sky. Flames could be seen engulfing part of the building as people looked out from nearby windows.

Volodymyr Horbulin, a former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said he was working at the academy when the attack occurred. He said his assistant, who was near the building, was killed, while he sustained minor injuries.

The academy is located near the German Embassy, a cathedral, the National Opera and several government buildings.

The institution described the attack as “Russian terror” and condemned it as an attack on peaceful people who were at their workplaces.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of deliberately targeting a scientific institution during working hours and called on Ukraine’s allies to provide additional air-defence systems.

Russia Deploys Faster Jet-Powered Drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces also struck a medical facility in Kyiv. He reported that at least nine people had been killed and more than 80 wounded in Russian drone attacks across Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was facing difficulties intercepting Russia’s faster, high-flying jet-powered drones.

According to the Ukrainian president, Russia launched 120 drones at Ukraine on Monday, including 90 jet-powered drones. He said Ukraine intercepted 57 percent of the jet-powered drones.

Ukrainian authorities said new interceptor systems are being tested as they seek to improve their ability to defend against the attacks.

Strikes Hit Businesses and Infrastructure

Russian attacks also targeted a pharmaceutical company and petrol stations in Kyiv, while civilian facilities, businesses and communications infrastructure were reportedly damaged in other parts of the country.

In Dnipro, a Russian drone strike on a business centre killed three people and wounded 19 others, according to local officials. Another person was killed at a logistics office in Synelnykove.

Emergency officials said an infrastructure facility in Zaporizhzhia was also attacked, leaving 32 people wounded.

The strikes have increasingly targeted economic and communications infrastructure across Ukraine, including data centres and telecommunications networks.

Ukraine has also intensified attacks inside Russia, targeting oil refineries and other facilities in an effort to disrupt revenues supporting Moscow’s war effort.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had recently targeted Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defence plants.

Both Russia and Ukraine have denied deliberately targeting civilians.