On the evening of September 4, Russian military again struck the 'Epitsentr' shopping center in Mykolaiv, using 'Shahed'-type strike drones. According to Yulia Chudnovets, head of the Public Relations Department of the 'Epitsentr' shopping center chain, the facility was hit six times within a single day. As a result of the attacks, two people were injured, including a 17-year-old girl, and residential buildings near the strike site were damaged. This is already the second attack on this shopping center in a short period of time.
Six impacts and the chronicle of the rescue
The first 'Shahed' hit the central part of the building. Deputy Director for Administrative and Household Affairs Vadim Larionov went up to the roof and extinguished the fire. Around 18:00, two more strikes followed — employees again went to put out the fire without waiting for the arrival of rescuers. They were later joined by State Emergency Service workers. The fourth impact hit the area of the Furniture Center, where the fire suppression system activated. By 20:00, according to the company's assessment, the shopping center had been largely saved — only smoldering remained on the site.
Ten people against fire and drones
'Epitsentr' reported that ten company employees put out fires with their own hands for nearly a day. People climbed onto the roof, entered the building engulfed in flames, shut off damaged pipes and tried to save equipment. During the attacks, they hid from strike drones, and after the threat was lifted, they returned to work. Meanwhile, drones continued to circle over the facility, preventing the fire from being fully extinguished.
The final strike that shattered hope
However, the attack did not end. One drone fell, and the next hit the Furniture Center complex. At that moment, two more drones were still circling over Mykolaiv. Due to the threat of a new strike, workers and rescuers were forced to leave the site and take cover. For about half an hour, they could not return to the fire; during this time, the wind began to spread the flames deeper into the shopping center. When people were able to approach the building again, the fire had intensified significantly: structures were damaged, and walls began to collapse. Shopping center director Oleksandr Dmytryshyn noted that without the final impact, the workers would likely have saved the building: 'If it hadn't been for the last impact, we would have saved the shopping center. We really tried very hard.'
Secondary loss of jobs
520 people worked at this 'Epitsentr.' Among them were employees previously transferred to Mykolaiv from facilities destroyed by Russian attacks in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa. Thus, some workers lost their jobs a second time because of the war. Earlier, in particular, in June 2024, a Russian strike hit an inactive 'Epitsentr' in Kherson, which became one of the reasons for redistributing personnel across the chain's regions.
