On November 25, 2024, a Russian airstrike caused significant damage to buildings at a university in Odessa.

Photos show damage to the building housing the gymnasium on the campus, including shattered windows and doors. There were no reported deaths or injuries on the campus.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about military forces targeting higher education facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility—such as a university building—is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-iskander-m-missile-strike-hits-odesa-injuring-at-least-8-people-3984
https://kyivindependent.com/odesa-attack-nov25/
https://suspilne.media/odesa/888753-nic-pisla-vibuhu-provela-u-bomboshovisi-ocevidci-pro-raketnu-ataku-25-listopada-po-odesi/