Volodymyr Vernadsky
Volodymyr Vernadsky (1863–1945) was a Ukrainian and Russian natural scientist, mineralogist and geochemist, and one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry and radiogeology. He was an academician of the Imperial Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences and the first president of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1919). He developed the concepts of the biosphere and the noosphere. The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine bears his name.
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Russian drone strikes Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences building, killing at least two
On 28 September 2026, a Russian jet-powered drone struck the Presidium building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) in central Kyiv around 13:30, causing a large fire and partially destroying the second and third floors of the historic structure. At least two people were killed — including the personal assistant of NASU Vice-President Volodymyr Horbulin — and multiple others were injured; some NASU staff remained unreachable after the strike. President Zelensky promised a Ukrainian response, Foreign Minister Sybiha called on UNESCO to strip Russia of voting rights, and the strike drew condemnation from European leaders and institutions.