A Russian jet-powered attack drone struck a Nova Poshta facility inside the Epicentr shopping center on the outskirts of Odesa, injuring seven people, including an 8-year-old child.
Overnight into August 18, 2026, a Russian jet-powered attack drone struck a Nova Poshta postal and logistics facility located inside the Epicentr shopping center on the outskirts of Odesa. The strike was reported by Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, who said seven people were injured, five of them hospitalized, including an 8-year-old child. Volunteers Support Ukraine is following the aftermath of yet another strike on civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region and continues helping people the war has left without a home or livelihood.
A Russian jet-powered drone hit a Nova Poshta warehouse operating inside the Epicentr retail complex on Odesa's outskirts. The impact ignited a fire, sending a thick column of black smoke over the site that was visible from a considerable distance. Emergency crews from the State Emergency Service in the Odesa region arrived to put out the blaze and clear debris. Volunteers Support Ukraine stresses that strikes on ordinary shops and logistics hubs like this one hit the everyday life of civilians, not military infrastructure.
Witnesses driving past the retail complex at the moment of the attack filmed the drone as it closed in on the buildings just before impact.
According to updated figures from Oleh Kiper, the number of people injured rose to seven, five of whom were hospitalized. Among them was a family with a child: an 8-year-old boy was inside the shopping center with his parents when the drone struck. A 42-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, and medics are providing them with the necessary care. Volunteers Support Ukraine extends its sympathy to those injured and underscores how unacceptable it is that children keep being harmed in these attacks.
According to some reports, the same overnight attack also damaged a nearby shoe factory and two residential buildings. Local residents were left with broken windows and damaged roofs just as autumn approaches, when every damaged roof or window becomes a new hardship for a family. Volunteers Support Ukraine continues gathering information about the needs of residents in affected areas so it can direct aid where it is needed most.
Odesa and the surrounding region have remained one of the main targets of Russian air attacks for years, with the enemy regularly striking the port, energy facilities, and civilian infrastructure across the region. In the 24 hours before this strike, Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 9 people and injured 43, according to a Kyiv Independent roundup. This night near Odesa was another reminder that civilian sites — shops, postal branches, residential neighborhoods — remain under constant threat. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees this as further confirmation of how essential it is to keep supporting communities living under continuous shelling.
Volunteers Support Ukraine helps people the war has affected most, delivering humanitarian aid, supporting families who have lost their homes or belongings, and helping communities recover from Russian shelling. The organization directs the resources it has to where civilians face the consequences of war every day, and it invites anyone able to help to join in supporting the Ukrainians who need it.
