Russian drone strikes Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences building, killing at least two

Why it matters

The strike hit a major Ukrainian scientific institution in the historic centre of Kyiv during the working day, in the immediate vicinity of the German Embassy and about 200 metres from the EU Delegation, raising concerns about strikes near diplomatic premises. It drew official condemnation from multiple European governments and EU institutions and prompted Ukraine's foreign minister to call for Russia's removal of voting rights in UNESCO. The attack fits an ongoing pattern of mass Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian cities — the Air Force reported 124 strike UAVs (86 of them jet-powered) launched between 06:30 and 18:30 on 28 September alone.

What happened

On 28 September 2026, a Russian jet-powered drone struck the Presidium building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at Volodymyrska Street 54 in the Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kyiv around 13:30. The three-storey building — originally the 1850s Pension of Countess Levashova that has housed the Academy since 1918–1919 — caught fire; the second and third floors were partially destroyed. People trapped inside tried to escape through the third-floor windows, and rescuers used ladders to pull two people to safety.

Mayor Klitschko initially reported one woman killed and three injured and hospitalised; the casualty count rose through the day as Zelensky later stated one killed and six injured (including three children), and the State Emergency Service reported one killed and seven injured. Among the dead was Nataliia Bukalo, the personal assistant of NASU Vice-President Volodymyr Horbulin, who himself sustained minor injuries from broken glass; the drone hit the room one floor above his office. Some NASU employees who were inside at the time remained out of contact for hours.

The 28 September drone assault was broader than the NASU building. The same day's strikes damaged a seven-storey building in Shevchenkivskyi district housing a Dobrobut clinic (seven or eight injured), a pharmaceutical company, gas stations, an Ukrtelecom facility, and a business centre in Dnipro. Across Kyiv, 24 people were injured including three children. President Zelensky said nine people were killed and more than 80 injured across Ukraine that day, with about 120 drones launched (90 of them jet-powered). The fire was later extinguished by DSNS rescuers; the NASU press service said almost all floors except the first burned and the upper structure was completely destroyed, leaving restoration prospects unclear.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian coverage led with operational detail — the time of hit (~13:30), the partial destruction of the second and third floors, the deployment of around 25 vehicles and 100 rescuers, and the eventual localisation of the fire — and centred official Ukrainian voices. President Zelensky promised a response, Foreign Minister Sybiha called for stripping Russia of UNESCO voting rights, and Education Minister Andriy Butenko and Deputy Minister Denys Kurbatov urged the international scientific community to isolate Russian institutions involved in or supporting the war. Kyiv Mayor Klitschko and the Kyiv City Military Administration provided rolling casualty updates.

Ukrainian outlets also foregrounded the symbolic weight of the building: its 1850s origin as the Pension of Countess Levashova, its role since 1918–1919 as the home of Ukrainian academic science founded by Hetman Skoropadskyi, and a parallel drawn with the Bolshevik shelling of the same building under Muravyov in January 1918. Personal-angle reporting featured Horbulin's injuries and the killing of his assistant, the testimonies of NASU staff who stepped out for a lunch break at the moment of impact, and statements from former Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny that close people of his had been killed. Ukrainian-language reporting quoted at length the international condemnations from Macron, von der Leyen, Berset, Sandu, Tsahkna and the German Foreign Office.

How international sources describe it

International coverage available here came from German, British and Azerbaijani (English-language) outlets and framed the strike primarily through the lens of damage to a historic academic institution and proximity to diplomatic missions. A German-language report (from the Auswärtiges Amt) emphasised that the strike occurred in the immediate vicinity of the German Embassy in Kyiv; an English-language Azerbaijani agency wire stressed that two academics were killed. A BBC-style English-language headline focused on people escaping the historic Kyiv building, foregrounding the human and heritage angle rather than the military or political consequences.

Condemnation statements from European leaders and institutions — relayed through Ukrainian and German outlets — characterised the attack as "science has become a target for Russia" and called for international pressure; coverage of the strike's location 200 metres from the EU Delegation and near the German Embassy was a recurring international-frame element. Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz's confirmation that a Russian jet drone struck about two kilometres from the Dorohusk–Yahodyn border crossing on Ukrainian territory, without violating Polish airspace, was highlighted in international reporting as a spillover concern.

Where reporting differs

Casualty figures from the NASU strike diverged over the day: initial reports cited 1 killed and 3 injured (Klitschko / KMVA), then 4–5 injured, and Zelensky later stated 1 killed and 6 injured (including 3 children), while the State Emergency Service reported 1 killed and 7 injured.

The Ukrainian Language Commissioner and NASU President Anatoliy Zagorodniy said two NASU academics or scientists were killed; the NASU press service did not confirm two academic deaths, confirming only the death of Horbulin's assistant Nataliia Bukalo.

Total injured across all Russian attacks on Kyiv on 28 September varied across reports: Klitschko figures progressed from 14 to 19 to 24 (including 3 children), with 6 hospitalised including 2 children.

Ukraine-wide figures cited by Zelensky were 9 killed and more than 80 injured, with drone counts given as either 124 strike UAVs (Air Force) or "about 120 drones, 90 jet-powered" (Zelensky).

The number injured at the separately struck Dobrobut clinic building varied between sources from 7 to 8, with 6 of them clinic employees.

Background

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) was founded in Kyiv on 27 November 1918, with Volodymyr Vernadsky as its first president. The NASU Presidium building on Volodymyrska Street 54 dates from the 1850s — it was originally the Pension of Countess Levashova, designed by architect Oleksandr Beretti — and has housed the Academy since 1918–1919. The same building was previously shelled by Russian Bolshevik forces under Muravyov in January 1918, a historical parallel drawn in commentary about the 28 September strike.

On 28 September 2026, Russia launched a massive drone assault on Ukraine; the Air Force reported 124 strike UAVs, 86 of them jet-powered, between 06:30 and 18:30, with Kyiv Oblast as the main direction of attack. The NASU building is located near the National Opera, several government buildings, the German Embassy and the EU Delegation office.