Russian Drone Strike Sets Kyiv’s National Academy of Sciences Ablaze, Killing One

A Russian drone slammed into the National Academy of Sciences in the heart of Kyiv on Monday afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring 19 more in one of the most brazen daytime strikes on the Ukrainian capital, according to Reuters.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said six of the injured were taken to hospital as firefighters battled flames engulfing part of the historic building and searched the rubble-strewn courtyard for people who may have been trapped inside. The Academy, founded in 1918, houses Ukraine’s leading research institutes and stands near the German embassy, a cathedral and the national opera house in central Kyiv.

Russia also pounded other targets across the country on Monday. A drone attack on a business centre in Dnipro killed three people, and one more died in a strike on a logistics office in Synelnykove, according to officials cited by Reuters. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a pharmaceutical company, petrol stations and a medical facility were hit in Kyiv as well.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of cynicism for targeting a scientific institution in the middle of the working day, calling the strike an act of terror. Zelenskiy warned that faster, high-flying jet drones are now overwhelming Ukraine’s air defences, with only just over half being intercepted.

Sources:
– Reuters
– Berliner Tageblatt