Russian drone hits Kyiv Academy of Sciences; Zelenskyy says 9 killed nationwide

A Russian drone hit the National Academy of Sciences in the historic centre of Kyiv on Monday, killing at least two people, as Russia pounded the capital with some of the most persistent drone strikes of the war, Al Jazeera reported citing AFP and Reuters.

Academy and citywide toll

Emergency officials said two people died in the academy strike, with one body later recovered from rubble. Volodymyr Horbulin, a former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told Suspilne he was at work there when it was hit; he said his assistant was killed and he was slightly wounded. The academy called the attack “Russian terror” aimed at people at their workplaces. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged allies to provide more air defences.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces also hit a medical facility in Kyiv and that at least nine people had been killed and more than 80 wounded in drone strikes throughout the country. In Dnipro, officials said a business-centre strike killed three and wounded 19; another person was killed in Synelnykove, and 32 were wounded in Zaporizhzhia, according to local authorities cited by Al Jazeera.

Jet-powered drones

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was still struggling to counter faster, high-flying Russian jet-powered drones: 90 of 120 drones fired on Ukraine on Monday were jet-propelled, with an interception rate for that type of about 57%. New interceptors are being tested, he said. Explosions were also reported in Kyiv early Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, with missile debris and a fire in parts of the city.