Overnight into September 4, Russia struck Dnipropetrovsk region more than ten times: a supermarket caught fire in Nikopol district, while a follow-up drone strike in Pavlohrad district killed two police officers who were documenting an earlier attack.
Dnipropetrovsk region went through another difficult night. According to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, the enemy struck two districts of the region with drones and artillery more than ten times between evening and morning. Volunteers Support Ukraine records attacks like this on Dnipropetrovsk region on a regular basis — unfortunately, this particular night turned out to be especially heavy for two communities at once.
In Nikopol district, the communities of Nikopol, Pokrovske, and Marhanets came under fire. The strikes damaged an enterprise and a supermarket, where a large fire broke out, engulfing the roof and rows of goods inside. Rescuers battled flames that were visible from a distance.
The night's most tragic incident happened in Pavlohrad district, in the Bohdanivska community. Police captain Oleksandr Hryhorenko and senior lieutenant Serhii Shmatko were part of an investigative-operative group that had gone out to document the aftermath of an earlier strike on the area. While they were working at the scene, the enemy launched a follow-up drone strike — a so-called "double tap." Both officers were killed, a third was hospitalized with serious injuries, and a service vehicle was damaged.
The tactic of striking a second time at the exact place where rescuers, police, or medics arrive to document an earlier attack is one of the most dangerous and, at the same time, most cynical aspects of this war for those who risk their lives on duty every day. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes it is important to keep telling these stories, even when they never make the big international headlines.
Volunteers Support Ukraine continues helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow. Every rescuer or police officer lost on duty is one more reason why support for those who face the consequences of this war every day needs to remain constant.
