On January 23, 2025, Russian drones struck several buildings at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University causing significant damage.

Photos from the aftermath show damage to a dormitory, classrooms and laboratories, the library, and the administrative building on campus, including shattered windows and doors.

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:
https://zp.edu.ua/poshkodzhennya-korpusiv-ta-gurtozhytkiv-vnaslidok-rosiyskogo-udaru-23-sichnya-2025-roku
https://www.ar-tech-uni.org.ua/?p=1870
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1679292076146381&id=100021968151873 [photos]