A TASR report datelined Bratislava, September 28, said a fire broke out on Monday in the historic building of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv after a Russian drone attack. Flames and thick black smoke engulfed part of the building.
The Presidium of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) condemned the strike, saying it violated international law and the basic values of the civilized world. SAV spokesperson Jozef Bednár relayed the academy’s statement: “An attack on an academy of sciences is an attack on knowledge, education and cultural heritage.”
SAV expressed solidarity with colleagues at Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences and everyone working in the building at the time of the attack. Bednár said the Slovak academy, as it has since the first day of the war, remains ready to help Ukrainian researchers and continue cooperation with scientific institutions in Ukraine.
The SAV Presidium urged academic institutions in Europe and around the world to join in condemning the strike. The building is in central Kyiv, an area usually well protected from Russian attacks, near the German embassy, a cathedral, the national opera and government buildings. Ukraine’s military had issued a drone warning for Kyiv beforehand.