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Russia Strikes Kyiv Again After Deadly Drone Attack on Sciences Academy — AI-generated representative image: Emergency crews respond to a damaged building in Kyiv amid renewed Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

Editorial Team

Jet-powered drone strikes widen across Ukrainian cities as Zelenskyy reports rising casualties

Russian forces struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv again early Tuesday, hours after a drone hit the National Academy of Sciences in the city's historic centre, killing at least two people. Explosions were heard across the capital, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that missile debris fell in the courtyard of one building while a second caught fire elsewhere in the city.

The renewed bombardment follows a wave of Russian drone strikes on Monday that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said killed at least nine people across Ukraine and wounded more than 80.

The attacks mark a sharp escalation in Russia's use of faster, high-flying jet-powered drones, which Ukrainian air defences have struggled to intercept. The strikes have expanded beyond military targets to include scientific institutions, medical facilities, businesses and communications infrastructure, deepening the humanitarian and economic toll of the war.

The targeting of civilian and economic sites has brought the capital firmly into the centre of the conflict, raising urgent questions about Ukraine's defensive capabilities and the readiness of its allies to provide additional support.

Strikes Across the Country

Emergency officials confirmed that the Monday strike on the National Academy of Sciences killed two people, with one body recovered from the rubble later in the evening. Video shared online appeared to show a fast-moving drone slamming into the building at a steep angle and exploding, sending smoke into a clear sky as bright orange flames engulfed part of the structure.

Volodymyr Horbulin, a former secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told public broadcaster Suspilne that he was at work at the academy during the attack. He said his assistant, who was near the building, was killed and that he was also slightly wounded.

In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a Russian drone attack on a business centre killed three people and wounded 19, according to officials. Another person was killed in a logistics office in Synelnykove, southeast of Dnipro, the regional governor said. Emergency services reported that an attack on infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia wounded 32 people.

A Widening Campaign Against Economic Targets

The strikes on Kyiv also targeted a pharmaceutical company and petrol stations, while civilian facilities, businesses and communications infrastructure were hit in other cities and regions. According to reporting from Kyiv, Russia has been hitting economic targets across Ukraine in a rolling series of strikes that has continued for six days, both during the day and at night.

Data centres and digital and communications infrastructure have increasingly been targeted. Kyiv Star, the country's largest mobile provider, was hit on Sunday, as was the second largest, Vodafone Ukraine. The government is reportedly preparing for the possibility of a total communications blackout should such an event occur.

Ukraine has also stepped up its own attacks on Russia, targeting oil refineries and online retailers in an effort to undermine revenues and support for Moscow's war effort. Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine struck Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defence plants. Both sides have denied deliberately targeting civilians.

Official Statements and Drone Figures

In a statement, the National Academy of Sciences called the attack "Russian terror" and "barbarity" aimed at "peaceful people who were simply at their workplaces." The academy is located near the German Embassy, a cathedral, the national opera and government buildings.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of cynicism for striking a scientific institution during the workday. "Russia is deliberately expanding the boundaries of what it believes the world will tolerate," he said, urging Ukraine's allies to provide more air defences.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was still having difficulty countering the faster, high-flying Russian jet-powered drones. According to the president, 90 of the 120 drones fired on Ukraine on Monday were jet-propelled rather than propeller-driven, with an interception rate for this type of drone at 57 percent. "New interceptors are being actively tested," he said, adding that some details still needed refinement to achieve sufficient effectiveness and scale.

What Happens Next

Russian strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities remain ongoing, with authorities continuing to assess casualties and damage from the latest wave of attacks. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was accelerating work with developers on new interceptors to counter the jet-powered drones, while calling for greater support from allies.

Ukrainian officials have not yet released a complete assessment of casualties from Tuesday's strikes, and additional information on the extent of the damage is awaited.