A second strike against rescue workers in Kharkiv was carried out using Iskander missiles
The Russian military launched a second strike on the Kholodnohirskyi district of Kharkiv on the night of June 14, using Iskander ballistic missiles. According to local authorities, the attack occurred while rescue workers were on the scene of a previous strike. The strike killed employees of the State Emergency Service and a city council staff member.
Bogdan Gladkikh, director of the Kharkiv City Council’s Department of Emergency Situations, told reporters about this.
He reported that at 10:00 p.m., a large-scale fire broke out after a Shahed-type UAV struck the Kholodnohirskyi district. Units of the State Emergency Service and city department employees arrived at the scene. According to Gladkikh, the department’s responsibilities include organizing emergency rescue operations.
Around 1:00 a.m., he said, Russian forces launched a missile strike, likely using Iskander-M missiles. The fourth missile struck the rescue workers and a department employee directly.
Gladkykh noted that three missiles struck a civilian facility, while the fourth landed near where the rescuers were working. Despite wearing body armor and helmets, they were within the blast zone, leaving them no chance of survival.
He added that the rescue workers had received a warning about the missile threat and had moved 450–500 meters away from the facility, but the strike was targeted.
The official also recalled a similar incident in the Kyiv district last year, when a second strike was avoided thanks to a rapid evacuation.
According to him, the colleagues of the deceased are in a state of shock. In particular, he mentioned employee Oleksiy Dorozhkin, who had worked in the department since its inception, was a former officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a specialist in operating drones for search and rescue operations, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
Earlier, the State Emergency Service released the names of the rescuers who died as a result of the strike on Kharkiv.
As a reminder, Russia attacked the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, causing a fire.
Prior to that, Russian cruise missiles struck the Zaporizhzhia region, leaving several people wounded.
Rescuers from the State Emergency Service were killed as a result of the Russian attack on Kharkiv.
