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Video shows moment Russian drone hits Kharkiv university building; 4 injured

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Video shows moment Russian drone hits Kharkiv university building; 4 injured
An educational institution damaged in a Russian drone attack against Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 16, 2025. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

A Russian drone strike targeted central Kharkiv during broad daylight on Sept. 16, damaging an educational institution and injuring at least four people, officials reported.

The roof of an administrative building of the National University of Pharmacy was heavily damaged, Suspilne broadcaster reported.

The employees hid in the shelter during the attack, said Vice-Rector Oleksandr Kukhtenko.

A fire broke out at the building covering an area of 150 square meters, according to the State Emergency Service.

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The aftermath of a Russian drone strike against Kharkiv's Slobidskyi district on Sept. 16, 2025. (Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office/Telegram)

Russia struck the city at around 11 a.m. local time, presumably using Geran-2 kamikaze drones, according to prosecutors. Local authorities said that some of the incoming drones were shot down.

The regional prosecutor's office released a video of a Russian drone hitting the university building in Kharkiv's Slobidskyi district, resulting in a massive explosion.

Several civilians were wounded while in the streets. The injured victims include three women aged 51, 52, and 54, and a 89-year-old man. All are in stable condition, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

"The strike was carried out in broad daylight, near the city center," Syniehubov said, stressing that the damaged facility was a purely civilian target with "no connection to the military or defense industry."

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack in a post on X, calling it "a typical day for Russia, which, unfortunately, continues to avoid truly strong global pressure in response to prolonging the war."

"During the day, a strike hit the center of Kharkiv, targeting university buildings. The National University of Pharmacy — for Russia, simply a target. Russian guided aerial bombs continue to rain down on communities in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions," the Ukrainian president said.

Zelensky urged the international community to respond to every strike and stressed that only significant economic losses could force Moscow toward diplomacy.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city lying some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the border with Russia, is a regular target of Russian missile and drone attacks.

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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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A co-founder of the New York Group — a collective of Ukrainian emigre writers — Tarnawsky helped to expand and redefine contemporary Ukrainian literature through his embrace of narrative structure experimentation and linguistic innovation.

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