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KYIV: 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.<\/p>\n
President Volodymyr Zelensky said nine people had been killed and more than 80 injured in Russian drone strikes throughout the country.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 24 people had been injured in several attacks on the capital, six of \u200cwhom were being treated \u200cin hospital.<\/p>\n
Sirens echoed through the streets as smoke billowed into the sky and air \u200braids \u200csounded \u2060late into \u200bthe \u2060day.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, Russia has begun hitting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with faster, high-flying jet drones.<\/p>\n
In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Ukraine was still having difficulty countering faster, high-flying Russian jet-powered drones \u2014 90 of 120 drones fired on Ukraine were jet propelled, rather than propeller-driven, and the interception rate was 57 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew interceptors are being actively tested,\u201d he said. \u201cSome combat groups are using them, but, of course, some details still need to be refined to achieve enough effectiveness and scale. Wea re speeding up the developers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oficials 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.<\/p>\n
Zelensky also \u2060detailed a report from Ukraine\u2019s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) which he said showed that Russia had \u200claunched a new wave of mobilization for its military.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are increasing the \u200cnumber of people they recruit through various methods,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is important that the governments \u200bof countries from which Russia recruits people for its army \u200ctake action against this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said 8,000 North Korean troops, first brought to Russia in 2024 to counter a Ukrainian incursion \u200cinto Kursk region, remained in the country and a further 10,000 were Being trained.<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as \u201cutter nonsense\u201d any notion that Moscow is ordering a new mobilization.<\/p>\n
ATTACK ON BUSINESS CENTRE IN DNIPRO<\/strong><\/p>\n In the southeastern city of Dnipro, the Russian drone attack on the business center killed three, officials said.<\/p>\n In particular, Russia has been widening its attacks on economic targets beyond warehouses, port facilities and energy infrastructure, in recent days hitting \u200cdata centers and telecoms facilities.<\/p>\n 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 \u2060city of Zaporizhzhia injured 32 \u2060people.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of cynicism for targeting a scientific institution during the working day.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia 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,\u201d he said, calling on Ukraine\u2019s allies to provide it with more air defenses.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said 19 people had been injured in the daytime attack on the business center in Dnipro.<\/p>\n Hanzha said the center was surrounded by residential buildings, a park, a library and offices in the city center: \u201cHundreds of people are here in the middle of the working day.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukraine has also increased attacks on Russia, targeting oil refineries as well as online retailers to try to \u200bundermine revenues and support for Moscow\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n Zelensky said on \u200bMonday that it had struck Russian oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two defense plants.<\/p>\n Both sides have denied deliberately targeting civilians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n