Prominent scientists among victims of New Year's Day drone attack in Kyiv
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The two victims killed in Russia's Jan. 1 drone strike on Kyiv were a married couple who both worked as scientists, Education and Science Minister Oksen Lisovyi announced.
Prominent neurobiologist Ihor Zyma and doctor of biological sciences Olesia Sokur were killed in the attack, Lisovyi said on Facebook. Zyma and Sokur were married.
"The family devoted almost their entire lives to science," Lisovyi said.
Zyma was a senior researcher and associate professor at the Institute for Biology and Medicine at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Sokur also worked at the Institute as a deputy director of scientific work and a member of the Academic Council.
"My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased, as well as to all who suffered from today's morning terror," Lisovyi said.
Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv on the morning of Jan. 1, killing two people and injuring six others, including two pregnant women. The attack also damaged a building of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Russia's full-scale invasion has taken a severe toll on Ukraine's scientific community. According to a study published by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) on Dec. 11, 23.5 percent of scientists still living in Ukraine have lost access to critical input for their research, and 20.8 percent cannot physically access their institution.
Around 18% of Ukraine's scientists have fled the country amid Russia's ongoing war.
