On February 16, 2026, a Russian drone strike caused significant damage to buildings at Kherson State University.

Photographs shared on the rector’s Facebook account show walls missing, collapsed hallways, broken windows, and significant debris. According to the rector, combat drones struck the dormitories and the main building. There were no reported deaths or injuries on campus.

Kherson State had been attacked multiple times since April 2022, most recently in January 2026 (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://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4093534-russian-drones-attack-main-building-and-dormitories-of-university-in-kherson-again.html
https://www.facebook.com/spivakovsky.alexander/posts/pfbid033VmRZjyaDz3jLMQUyM8WpuMUQLVLpwqqzoEiEkDQsBfebjWGqkrtQv217RQNcBmEl