Russian drone strike on Rivne university injures 25, sparks fire
A Russian drone hit a university building in central Rivne on Tuesday, injuring at least 25 people and gutting its music faculty premises in a fire, officials said.
Also in:Українська
A Russian drone struck an academic building at Rivne State Humanities University in central Rivne on Tuesday morning, injuring at least 25 people and starting a fire that gutted the premises of the university's music faculty, regional police said.
The drone hit the building shortly before 11:00 local time, Rivne Oblast governor Oleksandr Koval said. The number of people reported injured rose through the day: Koval first said 10 people were hurt, then 14, then 20, before police put the final figure at 25.
One person was in serious condition and three in moderate condition in the early reports, Koval said; by early afternoon, two of the injured were in intensive care, regional police said. The second floor and part of the building's facade were damaged, and the fire was later brought under control, Koval's office said.
The music faculty's premises were almost completely burned out, and the damaged building is unusable and will need to be rebuilt, Ukraine's education minister, Andrii Butenko, said. Windows were blown out in neighbouring academic buildings, he said, adding that the full extent of the damage was still being assessed.
All students at the university were in shelters at the time of the strike, the university said; those hurt were among its administrative staff. The university is considering moving fully to remote learning for the rest of the week, depending on which buildings remain usable, Butenko said.
Butenko called the strike "deliberate terror against the civilian population" and an attempt to disrupt education in Ukraine. A representative for the regional human rights ombudsman's office said the drone had hit a place meant for learning and young people rather than any military purpose, according to UNIAN.
Rivne's police and emergency crews remained at the site into the afternoon, clearing rubble and assessing the structure, while the regional administration said the full scale of the damage across the wider university campus was still being confirmed.
What we know
- Official · police A Russian drone hit an academic building at Rivne State Humanities University on Tuesday morning; the number of people hurt rose through the day, and police later put the total at 25.
- Official · Andrii Butenko The university's music faculty premises were almost completely burned out; the damaged building is unusable and needs rebuilding, education minister Andrii Butenko said.
- Official · regional officials One person was in serious condition and two were later in intensive care, regional officials said.
- Official · university All students were in shelters when the drone struck; those injured were administrative staff, the university said.
Not yet confirmed
- Unconfirmed A final, independently confirmed casualty total; figures rose through the day from 10 to 25 as officials updated their count
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Why it matters for Europe
Russian forces have repeatedly struck Ukrainian schools and universities this year: a drone hit a university in Kyiv during classes on 2 September, and another struck a school building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on 1 October, though no one was hurt in that incident. Rivne itself has faced earlier attacks: a Russian strike on 9 October damaged a home and injured seven people, including a boy who later died, and an explosion was reported in the city on 30 September after air force warnings of an approaching drone.
Sources
Reported by 7 reports from 7 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- UNIAN: У центрі Рівного БПЛА влучив у будівлю університету: 20 поранених
- NV: РФ вдарила дронами по університету в центрі Рівного, 14 поранених, спалахнула пожежа — що відомо
- Musavat: Rusiya universitet binasını VURDU - Yaralılar var - VİDEO
- Hromadske: росіяни вдарили по університету в центрі Рівного — 20 поранених (ДОПОВНЕНО)
- NV.ua: Russian drone strike hits university in central Rivne, injuring 14 and sparking fire
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- How many people were injured in the Rivne university strike?
- At least 25 people were injured, police said, after earlier reports put the figure at 10, then 14, then 20 as the toll was updated through the day.
- What caused the damage?
- A Russian drone hit an academic building, damaging the second floor and part of the facade and starting a fire that gutted the music faculty's premises.
- Will the university stay open?
- It is considering moving fully to remote learning for the rest of the week, depending on which buildings remain usable, education minister Andrii Butenko said.
This article was written with AI assistance from 7 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.