A Russian jet-powered drone struck the historic National Academy of Sciences building in central Kyiv on Monday afternoon, contributing to a broader wave of attacks that killed at least nine people across the country.

Ukrainian officials reported that the direct hit on the 19th-century structure in the Shevchenkivskyi district killed two people at the site. Rescue workers recovered additional victims from the rubble as firefighters battled flames that engulfed parts of the building. Staff members inside at the time escaped through windows using ladders provided by emergency services.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nine people died and more than 80 were injured in Russian drone strikes nationwide on Monday. Other targets in Kyiv included a pharmaceutical company and gas stations. Strikes also hit infrastructure and civilian facilities in other regions.

The attack marked another use of faster, high-flying jet-powered drones that Russia has deployed in recent weeks. These weapons fly at altitudes and speeds that challenge Ukraine's air defenses more effectively than earlier propeller-driven models.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the strikes as an attempt to destabilize the situation. The academy's president, Anatoliy Zagorodny, called the assault on the civilian scientific institution an act of terrorism. The building has longstanding ties to Ukraine's defense sector, though officials stressed it is not a military facility.

The strikes occurred amid ongoing diplomatic efforts at the United Nations to advance negotiations to end the conflict that began more than four years ago. Emergency services continued operations at the academy site into the evening, with some staff initially unaccounted for.