Kamikaze drone flattens Kharkiv university; Zelensky urges European air-defence 'umbrella'

A Russian kamikaze drone struck a university building in the central Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, detonating on impact and injuring at least four people, local officials said.

The unmanned aerial vehicle hit the Kharkiv National Pharmaceutical University in the Slobidskyi district at about 11 a.m. local time, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov condemned the attack, saying it was carried out in broad daylight near the city center and that the damaged facility "was a purely civilian target with no connection to the military or defense industry." Passersby were shown running from the scene as the building burst into flames.

The strike in Kharkiv came as President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for a coordinated European air-defence shield to protect cities from drone and glide-bomb attacks. On Telegram, Zelensky said Ukraine had faced "more than 3,500 drones, more than 2,500 powerful glide bombs and almost 200 missiles" from Russia in the past two weeks and urged partners to deploy a "multilayered air defense system" to protect European skies.

The attack followed an overnight Russian barrage on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia that regional officials said wounded 13 people, including two children. Regional head Ivan Fedorov said more than 20 apartment buildings were struck, triggering fires and damaging structures that were still being repaired after previous attacks. "We hadn't yet recovered from enemy strikes on Aug. 30," Fedorov said, adding that municipal workers now faced additional repair tasks.

Ukrainian officials and independent analysts have described glide bombs and drone swarms as a major challenge for Kyiv's defenses. Glide bombs, typically released by high-altitude jets behind the front lines, are not precise but can create large craters and significant damage, officials say. Kyiv has struggled to develop effective countermeasures to the weaponry, while waves of smaller kamikaze drones have repeatedly struck civilian areas.

The intensification of drone activity has also spilled into NATO territory. On several recent occasions Russian drones have landed on Polish soil, prompting the alliance to reinforce air-defence deployments in Europe. Zelensky said the technologies needed for a shared European air-defence umbrella are available but require investment and political will from partners.

Kyiv has not been passive. Ukrainian forces have launched long-range drone strikes inside Russia, targeting installations Kyiv says are vital to Moscow's war effort. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on Tuesday that its forces struck an oil refinery in the Saratov region overnight, causing explosions and a fire at the facility. Recent Ukrainian strikes on oil depots, refineries and terminals have contributed to gasoline shortages in parts of Russia, where seasonal demand and supply disruptions have tightened markets.

The renewed violence came amid months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to find a settlement to the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Those efforts have produced little visible progress. President Donald Trump has issued ultimatums and deadlines for Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage with proposals to halt fighting; those directives have passed without evident consequences, according to public statements and the absence of subsequent diplomatic breakthroughs.

Local emergency services in Kharkiv extinguished the blaze and cleared the area, while humanitarian and municipal teams assessed damage to the university and nearby buildings. No military facilities were reported at the site, and officials said the wounded were treated for injuries sustained in the blast.

The attacks on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia underscore the ongoing risk to civilians as the front line, stretching roughly 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles), remains active across multiple regions. Kyiv and its Western partners face mounting pressure to bolster air defenses as both sides continue to carry out strikes that affect civilian infrastructure and populations.