On February 4, 2025, Russian drones struck Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, causing damage to classrooms and a dormitory.
Photos from the aftermath show shattered windows in a dormitory and a collapsed ceiling in a classroom. This is the third time Russia has struck the university since the full scale invasion in 2022 (see report).
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://english.nv.ua/russian-war/russian-drone-attack-damages-kyiv-university-fragments-found-in-pechersk-district-50487535.html
https://glavcom.ua/kyiv/news/pid-chas-vorozhoji-ataki-postrazhdav-odin-z-hurtozhitkiv-ta-korpus-universitetu-shevchenka-foto-1043710.html
