Russian Drone Strikes Kyiv Science Academy, Killing Five Across Ukraine

Russian drones struck Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in the historic heart of Kyiv on Monday, killing one person and wounding an 87-year-old former security chief, in the latest daytime attack on the capital. Separate strikes in the east killed four more people, bringing the day's death toll to five as Europe's largest conflict since World War II grinds into its fifth year.

Video footage shared online showed a high-speed drone slamming into the academy at a sharp angle, exploding and sending acrid smoke into the blue sky. People leaned out of windows as bright orange flames engulfed part of the building, a site close to the German embassy, a cathedral, the national opera and government buildings.

What happened at the National Academy of Sciences?

Volodymyr Gorbulin, Ukraine's former national security and defence council secretary, was at work in the academy when the drone hit. He told state broadcaster Suspilne that he was slightly wounded. His assistant, who was near the building, was killed.

Gorbulin, 87, is the first Director General of the National Space Agency of Ukraine and a highly respected academic. The academy condemned the attack as Russian terror and barbarity, targeting peaceful people who were simply at their workplaces... Ukrainian science, education and culture.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said a separate strike in the capital hit a medical facility. Ukrainian authorities say cultural sites, government buildings and schools have all been targeted before.

How many people died in strikes across Ukraine?

Russian strikes killed four people and wounded at least 19 at a business centre in the central city of Dnipro. Authorities also reported an unspecified number of fatalities in a strike on a residential area in eastern Kharkiv.

Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said Russian forces damaged an ice cream factory in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv, plus residential buildings in Sumy in the north, Rivne in the northwest and Odesa in the south. Thirty civilians were wounded, three seriously, in strikes on Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.

The danger persists in many regions. The enemy is intensifying its terror. I urge citizens not to ignore the alerts and to stay in safe places whenever possible, Koretsky warned.

Why is winter a growing concern for Ukraine?

Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than traditional models based on Iranian Shahed drones. Zelensky last week renewed his appeal to Western allies for more military support, including US-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing powerful ballistic missiles.

Ukrainians are weighing their options as winter approaches. Russian attacks last year on energy infrastructure cut power and heating as temperatures plunged to as low as -20C. In an interview broadcast on Sunday night, Koretsky stopped short of telling all residents to leave cities before winter, calling that an extreme step. But he suggested vulnerable people should relocate to avoid overloading hard-pressed emergency services.

If a person lives, for example, on the 16th floor and for instance the power gets cut, why at that moment, when the state emergency service specialists need to focus on dealing with the consequences, should we be... handling people who need extra attention? he told TSN television. For such people, it's worth finding an alternative place to stay for the winter period.

What did EU ministers discuss about Russian hybrid attacks?

European defence ministers met to discuss whether the EU needs its own NATO-style emergency mechanism to bolster coordination against what they describe as Russian hybrid attacks. Arriving for the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said the issue of several hundred billion euro in frozen Russian assets should be kept on the table as the EU looks for ways to meet Ukraine's defence needs.

European governments say Moscow is stepping up its campaign of sabotage and interference against Ukraine's supporters as Kremlin forces struggle to make headway on the front line.

Did a Russian drone strike near the Polish border?

A Russian jet-powered drone struck a Ukrainian village near the Polish border on Monday, damaging a border checkpoint. Acting Volyn governor Roman Romaniuk said on Telegram: Unfortunately, there was an impact near the border with Poland in the village of Starovoitove. The blast wave damaged the checkpoint building at the entrance to the terminal.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The village lies about 2km from the Polish border, close to Ukraine's Yagodyn border crossing. Poland's defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz reported the strike on X, saying: There was no violation of Polish airspace. Our air defence systems and aircraft were ready to respond.

Russia did not immediately comment. The Kremlin said earlier this month it would keep striking targets across the whole of Ukraine when asked about a drone strike near the Polish border.

What did NATO's top commander say about Russia's sabotage?

NATO's top military commander said Monday that Russia's sabotage campaign in Europe was failing to deter countries from supporting Ukraine. State-directed sabotage is growing increasingly brazen, US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told a committee of EU lawmakers.

Grynkewich cited 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. These are clear examples of attempts to instil fear and fracture our unified support to Ukraine. It isn't working, he said, pointing to Denmark's fast-tracking of fresh aid for Ukraine after the flare incident.

If there is a hybrid attack on your country, reinforcing the will to support Ukraine will show the Russians that their strategy isn't working and maybe have them back off that strategy, he added. Grynkewich said NATO countries working together can handle these threats, and we are handling them.

He urged authorities to publicly attribute incidents once responsibility had been confirmed and to coordinate any response with allies. European governments say Moscow is stepping up sabotage and interference as Kremlin troops continue fighting more than four years after the February 2022 invasion.