Ukrainian Science Academy, Struck by Drone, Played Key Role in Research
Over 90 percent of Ukraine’s scientific discoveries have been attributed to Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, including advancements in astronomy and military technology.
Over 90 percent of Ukraine’s scientific discoveries have been attributed to Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, including advancements in astronomy and military technology.
The Russian attack on Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences on Monday dealt a serious blow to the country’s pre-eminent research institution, a recent center of wartime innovation that is also responsible for almost every major Ukrainian civilian discovery of the past century.
Scientists affiliated with the academy have contributed to recent discoveries in the fields of astronomy and medicine and have been instrumental in developing new military technologies, including drones and enhanced armor for vehicles.
Academics from Ukraine and around the world on Tuesday condemned the strike by a jet-powered drone, which caused the academy’s headquarters in Kyiv to partly collapse and become engulfed in flames, killing at least two people and injuring several others.
“Science has become a target. And the world has seen it,” the academy said in a statement on Tuesday. “There can be no ‘science is above politics’ when science is under armed attacks.”
It was not immediately clear if the academy had been intentionally targeted. The building is near a data center maintained by a large telecommunications and internet provider, UKRtelecom. Such facilities have recently come under frequent Russian attack.
“It’s more of a symbol that the Russians want to destroy,” said Mark Omelchenko, 26, a Kyiv resident near the burned building on Tuesday. “But I don’t think this will destroy science.”
