As a result of a massive attack by Russian drones in Kovel, infrastructure facilities and residential buildings were damaged. This was announced by Kovel mayor Ihor Chaika in a Facebook post, according to RBC-Ukraine. According to him, the community recorded hits on infrastructure facilities, as well as destruction and damage to real estate caused by the fall of debris from shot-down aerial targets. At the time of the statement's publication, five injured citizens were known to have sought medical help at the Kovel Interdistrict Trauma Center (MTMO).
Timeline and scale of the attack
The strike on Kovel was part of a broader massive aerial attack that, according to the same information flow, Russian forces carried out on September 12 against western regions of Ukraine. Volyn and Rivne oblasts were in the strike zone: during the air alert, local authorities urged residents to take shelter immediately and to avoid staying near gas stations due to the heightened threat of repeated strikes. Later, it became known about the destruction of an enterprise in the Sarny district of Rivne oblast as a result of another aerial attack.
Injured and the work of the damage assessment commission
A special commission has already begun working in the community, inspecting and documenting facts of damage to real estate. According to the mayor's statement, this is necessary for the subsequent processing of compensation payments and providing assistance to the affected residents. Ihor Chaika also thanked the emergency and utility services for their prompt work, and the air defense forces for protecting the sky. A hotline of the mayor is available for residents whose housing was damaged: 0 800 219 019.
Regional context: strikes on western oblasts
In addition to Kovel, on the same day, according to reports from the same information flow, the occupiers struck Zhytomyr oblast. In the city of Zvyagel, it is claimed, a grocery store was attacked, resulting in two deaths; gas stations and a local enterprise were also shelled. Thus, the consequences of September 12 cover several western regions at once, where both infrastructure destruction and human casualties are recorded.
Contradictory data
It should be noted that the quantitative indicators for Kovel (five people who sought medical help, the nature of the damage) at the time of preparing the material are based on a single official statement by the mayor, reprinted by one publication, and were not independently verified by other specialized sources from the provided set. Moreover, some of the additional reference materials provided for fact-checking contain timestamps and descriptions relating to other dates and other locations (in particular, to events of 2024 in other regions), so they are not used to confirm the circumstances of the Kovel incident of September 12, 2026. Differences in the figures for the injured and the dead in different oblasts may also be clarified as the commissions work and data from medical institutions arrives.
What residents should do and whom to contact
City authorities recommend that during an air alert residents head immediately to shelters and not stay near gas stations. Residents whose housing or property was damaged as a result of the attack should contact the mayor's hotline at 0 800 219 019 to document the damage and subsequently process compensation. The commission continues inspecting the facilities, and final data on the damage and the number of injured may be updated as the work is completed.
