Three Russian drones struck a busy shopping mall in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, on 10 September 2026, killing and wounding people who were simply shopping or having coffee. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams worked alongside local medical staff to treat 67 people in a major mass casualty event.  

The attack took place in afternoon in a residential area, close to a children’s playground, a public transport stop and a café. Among those injured were elderly people and children. According to local authorities, five people were killed. An MSF nurse working in one of the main hospitals in Pavlohrad helped with the immediate triage of patients, while MSF urgently brought in anaesthetists, experienced doctors and paramedics from other locations to help as the scale of the carnage became clear.

“Our teams were working across several departments. While we were providing critical care in the intensive care unit, new patients were still arriving in the emergency department,” says an MSF nurse Oksana*.

I was working with two women who had moderate injuries – and then I had to switch to a 29-year-old man in critical condition with a penetrating abdominal injury. Unfortunately, one patient had already died from their injuries by the time they were brought to the hospital. Another patient died in the intensive care unit from injuries that were incompatible with life. There were many patients with complex injuries, including burns, internal organ damage, severe bleeding and head and traumatic brain injuries. Eight children were urgently referred to hospitals in Dnipro city, together with local medical teams, for specialised care.
Mariia Khvalbota
MSF anaesthetist

Since the beginning of August, Russian forces have struck at least six shopping centres in other cities of Ukraine where MSF teams are working – Dnipro, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia – as well as scores of food shops and home goods stores. 

“This feels increasingly like a war waged against civilians,” says Robin Meldrum, Country Director for MSF in Ukraine. “People are being forced to live with the constant fear that the next target could be their home, their neighbourhood or their local shops. In many cities in Ukraine, people spend their time making life-or-death decisions about going to shelter or not, leaving their house, going shopping, commuting to and from work.” 

 

* The MSF nurse’s name has been changed at her request.