Drone Strikes Kyiv Building as Residents Climb Out of Windows

A Russian drone strike set part of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv on fire Monday, in the latest escalation of attacks targeting the Ukrainian capital.

Videos posted on social media showed people leaning from windows in search of fresh air as dense black smoke billowed overhead and vivid orange flames tore through part of the historic building.

The building stands in the heart of Kyiv, an area typically considered among the city’s best-protected zones. It is also near the German embassy, a well-known cathedral, the national opera and several government offices.

Earlier, Ukraine’s air force had issued an alert for Kyiv, warning residents that “drones [were] moving toward the city.”

Moscow has subjected Kyiv to months of drone and missile attacks. The increasingly frequent strikes have repeatedly brought the capital to a standstill, with air raid sirens sounding several times a day.

Russian attacks on Sunday killed three people in two Ukrainian cities and also hit districts across Kyiv, according to local officials.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nine people were wounded in the capital, including one child. Six of those injured were taken to hospital for treatment.

Russian forces have carried out sustained attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for years, with most strikes taking place overnight. In recent weeks, however, attacks have been launched almost continuously during the day as well.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Sunday’s strikes, saying the attacks on civilian areas amounted unmistakably to “terrorism.”

“Russia has no military objective whatsoever in doing this,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“It is purely an attempt to break people and inflict as much harm as possible on our society.”

In Sumy, a northern city near the Russian border that has been repeatedly targeted, three glide bombs landed near a family support center and killed two people, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Telegram.

Russia has for years said it plans to establish a buffer zone across parts of the Sumy region.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and another frequent target in the northeast, a drone struck a car, killing its driver, prosecutors said.

Zelensky said Russia had launched 277 attack drones of different types since Saturday. Of those, 155 were jet-powered drones, which Moscow has increasingly deployed because they fly at higher altitudes and are harder to intercept.

He added that targets in Kyiv included a building used as the residence of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador.

Klitschko said a drone also hit a high-rise apartment building in an eastern suburb, starting a fire and injuring one person. Emergency crews later put out the blaze.

Drones hit areas near a kindergarten and a playground in two districts, Klitschko said on Telegram, and other areas in the city also suffered damage, though no casualties were reported. Drone debris had triggered a fire in another Kyiv district, he said.

Ukraine’s largest mobile service provider told the Interfax Ukraine news agency that Russian forces had hit its headquarters in continued strikes on Ukrainian data centers and communications infrastructure. There were no casualties.

Russia’s defense ministry issued statements saying its forces had struck two data centers in Kyiv, a logistics hub in Odesa, as well as two cargo vessels headed for Odesa.

Cultural sites, government buildings and schools have all been targeted in the attacks, Ukraine says.

Earlier this month, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security services.

In recent months, Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, based on Iranian Shahed drones.