UPDATE — The Ukraine National Academy of Science has released an official statement about the attacks here: Russian terror against Ukrainian science. Statement of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
BERLIN — ALLEA, All European Academies, expresses its profound shock and unconditional condemnation of the Russian drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) in central Kyiv on 28 September 2026, which has caused devastating damage to the Academy’s building, killed at least one person, and injured several others. Rescue operations and firefighting efforts are ongoing.
The attack struck the NASU building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district in a brazen daytime assault that also targeted apartment buildings, offices, and civilian infrastructure across the city. The broader assault killed at least seven people and wounded more than 50 others*. Photographs and footage circulating in the immediate aftermath showed people attempting to escape the burning building through windows. These scenes have shocked the international community.
ALLEA stands in full solidarity with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, its staff, and its researchers. As of January 2026, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine employed nearly 24,000 people, including over 13,000 researchers. It is one of Europe’s most significant scientific institutions and a long-standing partner academy within the ALLEA network. The deliberate targeting of a place of learning, research, and knowledge in the heart of Kyiv’s historic centre – along with all other attacks that have been made since the start of Russia’s war of aggression – is a barbaric act that cannot be condemned in strong enough terms.
This strike does not stand alone. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 4,650 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged, and a further 423 have been destroyed. The systematic targeting of Ukraine’s scientific and cultural infrastructure represents not only an assault on the country’s people, but a deliberate attempt to erase the conditions under which free inquiry, knowledge, and democratic life are possible.
ALLEA calls on the international community, European institutions, and all partners in the global scientific community to unequivocally condemn this attack and all attacks of this nature. Science, research, and education are not legitimate targets, either in war or in any other context. The destruction of scientific institutions is the destruction of a society’s capacity to understand, adapt, and rebuild.
ALLEA reaffirms its continued support for Ukraine, its researchers, and its academy, and calls for an immediate end to Russia’s campaign of deliberate destruction against Ukraine’s scientific and civilian infrastructure.
* Figures on casualties are from reporting published within the last few hours, so numbers may rise as the situation develops.
About ALLEA
ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing over 60 academies from across Europe. Since its foundation in 1994, ALLEA speaks out on behalf of its members on European and international stages, promotes science as a global public good, and facilitates scientific collaboration across borders, disciplines, and generations. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA works towards improving the conditions for research, providing the best independent and interdisciplinary science advice, and strengthening the role of science in society. In doing so, it channels the intellectual excellence and experience of European academies for the benefit of the research community, decision-makers, and society at large. ALLEA is constituted as a not-for-profit association and remains fully independent from political, religious, commercial, or ideological interests.
General Assembly Past Documents
A Strategic Framework for Ukraine’s Scientific Recovery – Video on the Gdańsk Declaration and the Road Ahead
ALLEA presents a new video, along with the European Commission and other partners, highlighting the strategic priorities for science, research and innovation in Ukraine’s recovery, following the first High-Level Steering Committee Meeting of the International Coalition for Science, Research and Innovation in Ukraine. Against the backdrop of continued attacks on Ukraine’s scientific institutions, the video underscores the importance of turning the commitments made in the Gdańsk Declaration into sustained, strategic action to protect and strengthen Ukraine’s research and innovation ecosystem.
ALLEA Condemns Russian Drone Strike on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
UPDATE — The Ukraine National Academy of Science has released an official statement about the attacks here: Russian terror against Ukrainian science. Statement of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
BERLIN — ALLEA, All European Academies, expresses its profound shock and unconditional condemnation of the Russian drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) in central Kyiv on 28 September 2026, which has caused devastating damage to the Academy’s building, killed at least one person, and injured several others. Rescue operations and firefighting efforts are ongoing.
The attack struck the NASU building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district in a brazen daytime assault that also targeted apartment buildings, offices, and civilian infrastructure across the city. The broader assault killed at least seven people and wounded more than 50 others*. Photographs and footage circulating in the immediate aftermath showed people attempting to escape the burning building through windows. These scenes have shocked the international community.
ALLEA stands in full solidarity with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, its staff, and its researchers. As of January 2026, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine employed nearly 24,000 people, including over 13,000 researchers. It is one of Europe’s most significant scientific institutions and a long-standing partner academy within the ALLEA network. The deliberate targeting of a place of learning, research, and knowledge in the heart of Kyiv’s historic centre – along with all other attacks that have been made since the start of Russia’s war of aggression – is a barbaric act that cannot be condemned in strong enough terms.
This strike does not stand alone. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 4,650 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged, and a further 423 have been destroyed. The systematic targeting of Ukraine’s scientific and cultural infrastructure represents not only an assault on the country’s people, but a deliberate attempt to erase the conditions under which free inquiry, knowledge, and democratic life are possible.
ALLEA calls on the international community, European institutions, and all partners in the global scientific community to unequivocally condemn this attack and all attacks of this nature. Science, research, and education are not legitimate targets, either in war or in any other context. The destruction of scientific institutions is the destruction of a society’s capacity to understand, adapt, and rebuild.
ALLEA reaffirms its continued support for Ukraine, its researchers, and its academy, and calls for an immediate end to Russia’s campaign of deliberate destruction against Ukraine’s scientific and civilian infrastructure.
* Figures on casualties are from reporting published within the last few hours, so numbers may rise as the situation develops.
About ALLEA
ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing over 60 academies from across Europe. Since its foundation in 1994, ALLEA speaks out on behalf of its members on European and international stages, promotes science as a global public good, and facilitates scientific collaboration across borders, disciplines, and generations. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA works towards improving the conditions for research, providing the best independent and interdisciplinary science advice, and strengthening the role of science in society. In doing so, it channels the intellectual excellence and experience of European academies for the benefit of the research community, decision-makers, and society at large. ALLEA is constituted as a not-for-profit association and remains fully independent from political, religious, commercial, or ideological interests.
ENRIO and ALLEA Hold Joint Webinar on Delineating Research Integrity
On 10 September 2026, ALLEA and ENRIO brought together researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore a shared understanding of research integrity across Europe in the joint webinar “Delineating Research Integrity: Towards a Common Understanding of Scope and Definitions”. Read more and check out the full webinar recording.
Webinar: Delineating Research Integrity – Towards a Common Understanding of Scope and Definitions
What do we mean when we talk about research integrity? Join ALLEA and ENRIO on 10 September 2026 as they host a webinar that explores how a clearer conceptual framework for research integrity could strengthen policies and practices across Europe.
ALLEA Board Member Contributes to Leopoldina Podium Discussion on Science in Democracy
Join ALLEA Board Member Dr. Kerstin Maria Pahl (Die Junge Akademie), Leopoldina President Prof. Bettina Rockenbach, chemist Prof. Peter Seeberger, and social anthropologist Prof. Shalini Randeria for a wide-ranging conversation on “What does scientific freedom actually protect, and what happens when institutions can’t rely on courts alone to defend it?” at the latest Leopoldina podium discussion, “Science in Democracy.”
ALLEA Contributes to ERA Workshop on a European Framework for Science for Policy (S4P)
On 9 July 2026, ALLEA participated in the workshop “Advancing the European Science for Policy Ecosystem: Towards a European Framework for Science for Policy”. The event was organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and brought together representatives from ministries, research organisations, universities, European institutions, and stakeholder organisations to launch a collaborative process for strengthening Europe’s science-for-policy ecosystem.
Representing ALLEA, Senior Policy and Strategy Officer Matthias Johannsen contributed to discussions on developing a common European framework for science for policy. Through interactive sessions, participants identified shared priorities and explored ways to strengthen collaboration between science and policymaking across Europe.
The workshop is part of the ERA Action “Advancing the European Science for Policy (S4P) Ecosystem”, which aims to foster stronger science-for-policy structures and cooperation across Europe. It marks the start of a longer-term process, with participants continuing to develop the framework in the coming months.
ALLEA takes part in this process as a stakeholder organisation in the European Commission’s ERA Forum.
Event Report: Shared Principles, Regional Realities – Advancing Research Assessment Reform in the Asia-Pacific
On 2 June, ALLEA, on behalf of CoARA, together with the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and FORCE 11, organised a joint workshop in Singapore, co-located with the FORCE2026 Conference and hosted by Singapore Management University (SMU).
ALLEA and the Scientific Advice Mechanism Host Science Policy Events in Turin
The Use of AI in Crises
On 12 June, the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) organised an event in Turin, Italy in collaboration with the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino and ALLEA, titled, “AI for Crises and Emergencies: Understanding and Communicating Disasters”, in an effort to disseminate the recently published Rapid Evidence Review Report on “Artificial Intelligence in Crisis and Emergency Management” and the statement of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors. The event was moderated by Antonello Provenzale, a member of the ALLEA Task Force on Strengthening Trust in Science.
Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Chair of the ALLEA Task Force on Strengthening Trust in Science
Speakers, including Chair of the ALLEA Task Force on Strengthening Trust in Science, Emilija Stojmenova Duh, explored AI’s potential to improve hazard prediction and disaster analysis, as well as risks such as disinformation, bias, hallucinations in large language models (LLMs), and the lack of representation of marginalised populations. Discussions focused on the regulation of AI use during crises, accountability issues, the promise of agentic AI and chatbots for personalised emergency communication, mis-/disinformation dynamics, and the effective use of AI-based early-warning systems.
The event was well attended with national press and TV (TGR Leonardo del 12/06/2026 ore 14:50 | TGR Leonardo, Rubrica del TGR) present to report on it. You can read the latest SAM Advice on AI in crisis management here.
Strengthening Trust in Science
On 11 June, the ALLEA Task Force on Strengthening Trust in Science also met in Turin, bringing together members from across Europe to take stock of the Task Force’s progress and shape its future direction. Discussions focused on a range of issues at the heart of contemporary debates on trust in science, including research integrity, scholarly communication, AI, democracy, and the relationship between scientific institutions and society. Members explored how these themes intersect across the Task Force’s three working groups and discussed potential outputs for the coming year, including a symposium on science, democracy, and public trust planned in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Throughout the engaging discussions, Task Force members emphasised the importance of combining conceptual reflection with practical relevance and of fostering dialogue across disciplines and sectors.
ALLEA Opens Call for Nominations for the Madame de Staël Prize 2026
The ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize is awarded annually. It is part of the larger mission of ALLEA to not only promote the intellectual, scientific, and cultural richness of Europe, but also to support and acknowledge scholarly contributions that add to these valuable European assets.
The idea of the ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize emerged in 2014 with the inauguration of the “New Narrative for Europe” project initiated by then President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso (2004–2014).
The Prize recognises researchers or intellectuals whose work has contributed significantly to the advancement of Europe. A laureate’s work is ideally of an interdisciplinary nature and exhibits a remarkable and demonstrable contribution to the processes behind European development, integration and identity.
The laureate of the ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize 2026 is set to be announced at the end of the year, with a Prize handover ceremony planned for ALLEA General Assembly on 11–12 May 2027 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize 2025 was awarded to Professor Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council (ERC), in recognition of her outstanding contributions to European research leadership, and the advancement of frontier science across Europe.
Note that only ALLEA Member Academies can put forth a nomination. Please find more detailed information on the nomination process for the ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize here.
Nominations should be directed electronically to ALLEA Liaison Officer, Dagmara Bożek by 30 September 2026.