Russia strikes Chernihiv, killing woman and 4-year-old child
Russia has launched a new attack on Chernihiv, destroying a private home and killing a 49-year-old woman and a four-year-old girl, just days after striking a residential building in the city on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Russian forces attacked Chernihiv on the morning of August 26, destroying a private residential house. During search and rescue operations, rescuers recovered the bodies of a 49-year-old woman and a 4-year-old girl. Another child, a 14-year-old girl, was injured and taken to hospital.
According to the city authorities, three people may have been inside the house at the time of the attack. The strike also damaged outbuildings and a nearby shop.
The attack came just two days after another Russian strike on a residential building in Chernihiv. On August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day, a Russian drone struck a multi-storey residential building in the centre of the city. At least 17 people were injured, including children, and a fire broke out in the building.
On August 25, Russian forces again attacked Chernihiv with drones. A series of explosions was reported in the city, while energy infrastructure was damaged and some residents in the region were left without electricity.
A series of attacks on a civilian city
The latest strike is therefore part of a sustained wave of Russian attacks on Chernihiv rather than an isolated incident. Within three days, Russian forces repeatedly targeted the city, with strikes affecting residential areas and civilian infrastructure.
The pattern is difficult to reconcile with Moscow’s repeated claims that its forces only target military or strategic sites. In Chernihiv, the consequences are visible in destroyed homes, damaged civilian infrastructure and, once again, dead and injured civilians.
The timing of the attacks also adds another layer of cynicism. Russia struck Chernihiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day, continued its attacks the following day, and then destroyed another home on August 26, killing a woman and a child.
Russia continues to destroy Ukrainian cities and kill civilians while publicly denying responsibility for attacks on civilian targets. The gap between those claims and what happens on the ground is measured in destroyed homes, injured children and, in Chernihiv, the lives of a mother and a four-year-old girl.
Sources: State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Chernihiv Regional State Administration, National Police of Ukraine