On the night of July 26, 2026, Russia struck Sloviansk twice: the first strike started a fire, and when two Donetskoblgaz workers went out to help extinguish it, a second strike hit the same spot. Both men were killed.
On the night of July 26, 2026, Russian forces struck the city of Sloviansk in Ukraine's Donetsk region twice. The first strike started a fire, and two workers from Donetskoblgaz's emergency dispatch service — the regional gas utility that is part of the national Naftogaz group — saw the flames and went out to help put them out and assist affected residents. While the men were still at the scene, a second strike hit the very same spot. Both were killed.
Naftogaz confirmed the deaths of its two employees: 57-year-old mechanic Ivan Kosse and 28-year-old driver Boris Morhunov. The company said the men died while trying to help people affected by the earlier strike. Volunteers Support Ukraine follows stories like this from Ukraine's frontline regions closely, because they show just how dangerous the everyday work of rescuers and utility crews has become under fire.
Ivan Kosse and Boris Morhunov worked for Donetskoblgaz's emergency dispatch team, the crew that responds around the clock to gas emergencies and helps people in crisis situations. When they saw the fire after the first strike, they did not stay away — they went to the scene to help extinguish it and support their neighbors. It was while they were there that the second strike hit the same location.
Naftogaz described the loss this way: "The Naftogaz Group has lost two professional, responsible, and compassionate individuals. They did not stand idly by and helped others until the very end."
Sloviansk was not the only place hit that night: over the previous 24 hours, Russian forces attacked settlements across Donetsk region 18 times, with one further fatality reported in Druzhkivka. The same night, Russia launched seven ballistic missiles and 136 drones at Ukraine. A strike on a supermarket in Chernihiv killed two people, including a nine-year-old girl, and wounded 25 others. One person was killed in Kharkiv and one in Zaporizhzhia, while three were wounded in Kyiv. Volunteers Support Ukraine is acutely aware that behind every one of these figures is a family that lost someone in a single night.
Gas emergency crews across Ukraine routinely go to the sites of strikes to shut off gas lines, put out fires, and prevent further explosions — often before the threat of a follow-up strike has fully passed. The deaths of Ivan Kosse and Boris Morhunov are one more reminder of how high the price of that work can be during wartime. Rescuers, utility crews, and volunteers across the country take on similar risks every day.
Volunteers Support Ukraine helps people affected by the war with the resources it has — humanitarian aid, support for frontline communities, and support for those who risk themselves for others every day. The story of Ivan Kosse and Boris Morhunov is a reminder of why this work remains necessary: as long as the war continues, Volunteers Support Ukraine will keep standing alongside those who need help the most.
