Photos: Russian drone strikes pound civilian targets across Kyiv

Russian drones have struck Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences in the historic centre of Kyiv, as Moscow’s forces continue to pound the capital around the clock.

Ukrainian officials reported that at least seven people were killed and more than 80 wounded on Monday as Russian strikes hit apartment blocks, offices, petrol stations, data centres and cultural sites.

In Kyiv, a woman died and several people were injured when a high-speed drone smashed into the academy building near the German embassy and key government institutions.

Staff were seen escaping down firefighters’ ladders as flames engulfed part of the structure. Mayor Vitali Klitschko condemned the strikes as “pure terror” aimed at disrupting normal life and breaking civilian morale.

Elsewhere, three people were killed in a strike on an office centre in Dnipro, while dozens were wounded in attacks on Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa.

Moscow says it is targeting military-related sites, but Ukraine accuses Russia of systematic attacks on civilians and infrastructure to cripple its economy and force concessions in stalled peace efforts to end the two countries’ four-and-a-half-year war.