On May 24, 2026, a Russian missile attack severely damaged multiple scientific institutions within the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine.
The strikes damaged the historic building at 4 Hrushevsky Street, which houses several prominent research facilities: the Institute of History of Ukraine, the Ahatanhel Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature, the Maksym Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology, the Oleksandr Potebnya Institute of Linguistics, and the Institute of the Ukrainian Language. Nearby, the shelling also damaged the Hryhorii Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy and the Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography.
Photographs showed broken windows, debris, and damage to institutional infrastructure, including libraries, book storage, archival premises, and offices. Staff members worked to salvage the collections, archives, and scientific materials, which include tens of thousands of rare manuscripts and recordings.
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.ua/rubric-culture/4127150-cerez-rosijskij-obstril-kieva-24-travna-poskodzena-nizka-institutiv-nan-ukraini.html
https://www.facebook.com/NASofUkraine/posts/pfbid07Swm272QxSJLFTy2TdSyXCbeayTRZkSKdxobFGZu3DFuZsWTza5DW81RfXkHwRrcl?locale=uk_UA
https://ua.news/en/war-vs-rf/cherez-ataku-rf-u-kiievi-postrazhdali-instituti-nan-ukrayini
https://www.nas.gov.ua/en/news/pid-chas-masovano-ataki-na-kiv-postrazhdali-naukovi-ustanovi-nan-ukrani-ta-unikalni-arhivni-fondi