Following a Russian strike on its building, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) has appealed to the global scientific and academic community, calling for concrete actions and urging against the resumption of cooperation with Russian state scientific institutions.
"On September 28, 2026, Russia launched a direct strike using a jet-powered drone against the Presidium building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv. This day will forever remain one of the most tragic in the Academy's history, which spans more than a century. The Russian strike claimed the lives of two people. The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine extends its deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. The entire academic community shares in this loss. The Presidium building sustained significant damage. Fire engulfed the upper floors; people were cut off by the flames and forced to escape through the windows," the NASU statement reads.
The Academy views the strike as an attack on science itself and on the country's intellectual potential.
The Academy emphasizes that international solidarity with Ukrainian science must be backed by concrete decisions today; therefore, it is calling upon the global scientific and academic community to take specific actions.
"Science cannot exist in a vacuum of moral responsibility. There can be no 'routine scientific cooperation' with a state that kills people and destroys the scientific institutions of another country... We call upon academies of sciences, universities, research centers, scientific foundations, international scientific organizations, and publishers not to resume or legitimize institutional cooperation with Russian state scientific and educational entities while Russia wages an aggressive war against Ukraine," the statement reads.
It emphasizes that Russian state scientific institutions, supporting the aggression, cannot return to the international scientific community as if nothing had happened.
"There can be no 'science above politics' when science itself has come under armed attack. There can be no normalization where terror continues and accountability is absent. We call upon the global scientific community to stand united," the NASU added.
