Ukraine hit with deadly wave of Russian drone strikes in Kyiv and across the country

At least two people were killed when a drone hit the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv on Monday, as Russia pounded the heart of the Ukrainian capital with some of the most persistent drone strikes since the start of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said nine people had been killed and more than 80 injured in Russian drone strikes throughout the country.

Two people were killed in the assault on the Academy of Sciences building in the ​heart of the capital. Emergency services said later in the evening that one of the dead ​had been recovered from under rubble.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 24 people had been injured in several attacks on the capital, six of whom were being treated in hospital.

Sirens echoed through the streets as smoke billowed into the sky and air raids sounded late into the day.

In ​recent weeks, Russia has begun hitting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with faster, high-flying jet drones.

Struggle to defend against jet drones

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said ⁠Ukraine was still having difficulty countering faster, high-flying ⁠Russian jet-powered drones — 90 of 120 drones fired on Ukraine were jet propelled, rather than propeller-driven, ‌and the interception rate was 57 per cent.

“New interceptors are being actively tested,” he said. “Some combat groups are using them, but, of course, some details still need to be refined to achieve enough effectiveness and scale. We are speeding up the developers.”

Officials had noted attacks on other targets, including a pharmaceutical company, petrol stations and a medical facility in Kyiv. In other cities and regions, civilian facilities, businesses and communications infrastructure were targeted.

Zelenskyy also detailed a report from Ukraine’s Main Directorate ⁠of Intelligence (HUR) which he said showed that Russia had launched a new wave of mobilization for its military.

“They are increasing the number of people they recruit through various methods,” he said. “It is important that the governments of countries from which Russia recruits people for its army take action against this.”

Zelenskyy said 8,000 North Korean troops, first brought to Russia in 2024 to counter ‌a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, remained in the country and a further 10,000 were being trained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as “utter nonsense” any notion that Moscow is ordering a new mobilization.

Deaths in Dnipro, Synelnykove

In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a Russian drone attack on the business centre killed three, officials said.

In particular, Russia has been widening its attacks on economic targets beyond warehouses, port facilities and energy infrastructure, in recent days hitting data ​centres and telecoms facilities.

Another person was killed in a logistics office in Synelnykove, southeast of Dnipro, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. Emergency services said an attack on infrastructure in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia injured 32 people.

In Kyiv, flames leaped from ⁠the opened interior of the historic Academy building, and rubble was strewn across the courtyard, partially burying one car. Firefighters doused the building in water and searched for people ⁠in the wreckage, while two survivors of the blast clambered from upper story windows, onto ladders raised by emergency services.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of cynicism for targeting ⁠a scientific ⁠institution during the working day.

“Russia is deliberately expanding the boundaries ​of what it believes the world will tolerate. Every attack left without a strong response only encourages the next one,” he said, calling on Ukraine’s allies to provide it with more ​air defences.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said 19 people ⁠had been injured in the daytime attack on the business centre in Dnipro.

Hanzha said the centre was surrounded by residential buildings, a park, a library and offices in the city centre: “Hundreds of people are here in the middle of the working day.”

Ukraine has also increased attacks on Russia, targeting oil refineries as well as online retailers to try to undermine revenues and support for Moscow’s war effort.

Zelenskyy said on Monday that it had struck Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defence plants.

Both sides have denied deliberately targeting civilians.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries have been in a state of all-out war ever since.