Russian drone slams into Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences building with trapped victims climbing out of windows to escape inferno

A Russian drone strike on Monday triggered a fire inside Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in the heart of Kyiv, the latest in a series of escalating attacks on the Ukrainian capital.Videos shared on social media showed people leaning out of windows for fresh air as thick black smoke and bright orange flames engulfed part of the historic building.The site is in the very centre of Kyiv, which is usually well protected from Russian attacks, and close to the German embassy, a famed cathedral, the national opera and government buildings.The Ukrainian air force had earlier issued an alert for Kyiv, warning of 'drones moving toward the city'.Moscow has been pounding Kyiv with drone and missile attacks for months, with intensifying strikes bringing the city to a standstill as air raid sirens blast out multiple times a day.On Sunday, Russian attacks killed three people in two different Ukrainian cities, and struck districts of the capital Kyiv, local officials said.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nine people were injured in the capital, including a child. Six of the injured were being treated in hospital. A man tries to evacuate an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike Smoke and flames rise from an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike Residents try to evacuate an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strikeRussian forces have long staged intensive attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, mostly at night. In recent weeks, they have launched strikes almost continuously throughout the day.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried the attacks on Sunday, saying the civilian targets made the acts unquestionably 'terrorism.''Russia has no military objective whatsoever in doing this,' Zelensky wrote in a post on X.'It is purely an attempt to break people and inflict as much harm as possible on our society.'In the northern city of Sumy, a frequent Russian target near the border, three glide bombs struck near a family support center, killing two people, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote on Telegram.Russia has long said it intends to turn areas of the Sumy region into a buffer zone.In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast and another frequent target, a drone struck a car, killing the driver, prosecutors said.Zelensky said Russia had deployed 277 attack drones of various types since Saturday, 155 of them of the jet-powered variety Moscow has recently used more readily as they fly higher and are difficult to intercept.He said the targets in Kyiv had included a building used as a residence by the Saudi Arabian ambassador.Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said a drone had struck a high-rise apartment building, triggering a fire in an eastern suburb and wounding one person. Emergency crews extinguished the blaze.Drones hit areas near a kindergarten and a playground in two districts, Klitschko said on Telegram, and other areas in the city also suffered damage, though no casualties were reported. Drone debris had triggered a fire in another Kyiv district, he said.Ukraine's largest mobile service provider told the Interfax Ukraine news agency that Russian forces had hit its headquarters in continued strikes on Ukrainian data centers and communications infrastructure. There were no casualties.Russia's defense ministry issued statements saying its forces had struck two data centers in Kyiv, a logistics hub in Odesa, as well as two cargo vessels headed for Odesa.Cultural sites, government buildings and schools have all been targeted in the attacks, Ukraine says.Earlier this month, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security services. Emergency personnel carry away an injured person at the site of an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike A firefighter works at a site of an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike Smoke rises from an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike People carry an injured person at a site of an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strikeIn recent months, Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, based on Iranian Shahed drones.It comes as Ukraine's Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky has indicated that vulnerable people in cities should relocate before winter approaches, to avoid overloading the emergency services after Russian attacks.Kyiv, in particular was plunged into darkness for weeks last year as a result of Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy sector, cutting electricity and heating in temperatures as low as -20C.With the weather changing, many residents are now mulling what to do if the energy sector is again targeted, including leaving the city together.Koretsky stopped short of saying that all residents should leave for winter, calling that an 'extreme step', but said those with limited mobility and disabilities should consider alternatives.He told TSN television in an interview broadcast on Sunday night that he had discussed the matter with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.'Why not take care of these people specifically by their relatives or by the city's social services?' he said, adding: 'You can do this in advance before winter.''If a person lives, for example, on the 16th floor and for instance the power gets cut, why at that moment, when the state emergency service specialists need to focus on dealing with the consequences, should we be... handling people who need extra attention?' he went on.'For such people, it's worth finding an alternative place to stay for the winter period.'