On May 24, 2026, a Russian missile and drone strike hit the Kyiv School of Economics.

The attack shattered windows and doors in two of its main buildings. One university employee was injured. Despite the attack, the university remained operational and proceeded with its scheduled Open Day.

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.idnes.cz/zpravy/zahranicni/ukrajina-rusko-valka-univerzita-kyjevska-skola-ekonomie-studenti.A260527_143803_zahranicni_jhr
https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/cees/news/russia-unleashes-massive-barrage-kyiv-hypersonic-missile
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/05/24/8036168/
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0H8HQL7ShFt4jHrTFZgVVehPy8K2z3mfHJLdvq1otV5WgoMY16jsN1KJNv1RzA148l&id=100004775745586&rdid=zvE8GBw81O1tRGF8#
https://x.com/slantchev/status/2058912935607718254