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Russian Drones Strike Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences, Killing Two

4:03 AM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: Russian drones hit Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, killing two people and injuring at least 19 others.

At least two people were killed and more than 80 injured as Russian drones hit Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The attack, which saw a high-speed drone smash into the historic building, sent acrid smoke into the sky and forced some to flee via second-storey windows.

Volodymyr Gorbulin, a former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, was slightly wounded while at work at the academy during the strike.

In addition to the academy, Russian strikes targeted a pharmaceutical company, petrol stations, and a medical facility in Kyiv, with more attacks reported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Rivne, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported 24 people injured in several attacks on the capital, six of whom were hospitalized.

Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that Russia had launched a new wave of mobilization for its military, a claim dismissed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “utter nonsense.”

The Ukrainian president also detailed a report from Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) showing Russia’s increasing use of jet-propelled drones, with 90 of 120 drones fired on Ukraine being jet-propelled and an interception rate of 57 percent.

Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s allies to provide more air defenses, warning that Russia's campaign of sabotage and interference was failing to put countries off supporting Ukraine.

NATO's top military commander, General Grynkewich, said Russia's sabotage campaign in Europe was not working, citing recent incidents including the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at a German airport and a Russian naval ship firing flares at a Danish helicopter.

In retaliation, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian territory, targeting oil depots and sinking a sanctioned Russian container ship, Yanina, in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• A pharmaceutical company, petrol stations and a medical facility were also hit in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
• The National Academy of Sciences is close to the German embassy, a cathedral, the national opera and government buildings.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky said nine people had been killed and more than 80 injured in Russian drone strikes throughout the country.
• In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Ukraine was still having difficulty countering faster, high-flying Russian jet-powered drones — 90 of 120 drones fired on Ukraine were jet propelled, rather than propeller-driven, and the interception rate was 57 percent.
• In the southeastern city of Dnipro, the Russian drone attack on the business center killed three, officials said.
• “Russia is deliberately expanding the boundaries of what it believes the world will tolerate. Every attack left without a strong response only encourages the next one,” he said, calling on Ukraine’s allies to provide it with more air defenses.
• Zelensky said on ​Monday that it had struck Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defense plants.
• In recent weeks, Russia has begun hitting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with faster, high-flying jet drones.

What's still developing

• Elsewhere, Russian strikes killed four and wounded at least 19 at a business centre in the central city of Dnipro while authorities reported an unspecified number of fatalities in a strike on a residential area in eastern Kharkiv.
• Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russian forces damaged an ice cream factory in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv, and residential buildings in Sumy, in the north, Rivne, in the north-west, and southern Odesa.
• European governments say Moscow is stepping up its campaign of sabotage and interference against Ukraine's supporters, as Kremlin troops struggle to make headway on the front lines.
• "These are clear examples of attempts to instil fear and fracture our unified support to Ukraine. It isn't working," he said, pointing at Denmark's fast-tracking of fresh aid for Ukraine after the flare incident.
• Kyiv has increasingly faced Russian drones and missiles as Europe's worst conflict since World War II grinds through its fifth year.
• Video footage shared online appeared to show a high-speed drone smashing into the National Academy of Sciences at a sharp angle, exploding and sending acrid smoke into the blue sky above.
• Emergency services said later in the evening that one of the dead had been recovered from under rubble.
• "Ukraine will have to pay a price for the actions that have taken place in recent months," Peskov told reporters.
• On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a fiery speech to the U.N. General Assembly that "Europe is doing everything it can to thwart peace talks in which the Trump administration is interested," seeking, as Moscow has done throughout the war, to portray a rift within the NATO alliance.
• A woman was killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district on Monday afternoon, the Kyiv city military administration said.
• Russian strikes launched against Ukraine overnight into Saturday included 27 ballistic missiles and only one of them was intercepted, “simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot system”, Zelenskyy said.
• Fires broke out ⁠across Kyiv and power ⁠outages were reported in some areas.

Sources

• ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporationlink
• Al Jazeeralink
• CBS Newslink
• Irish Independentlink
• JFeedlink
• Kyiv Postlink
• Kyivindependentlink
• The SOFX Reportlink
• bnonews.comlink
• Newscordlink
• Peopledailylink
• Turkiyetodaylink
• Kyivpostlink
• United24Medialink
• Arabnewslink
• Newsweeklink
• Guardian News — video link