On August 24, 2026, a fire broke out at a warehouse of the Ukrainian Red Cross in Kherson as a result of a Russian drone attack. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing the organization's official statement on Facebook, property and humanitarian supplies stored at the facility worth nearly 28 million hryvnias were destroyed in the fire. The strike damaged and burned the warehouse stockpiles intended to aid the region's population.

Course of the attack and scale of the damage

As Ukrainian media report, citing the Ukrainian Red Cross, the cause of the fire was a Russian drone attack on Kherson. Flames engulfed the warehouse space where humanitarian cargo was stored. The organization confirmed that a significant portion of the stockpiles was damaged and completely destroyed. According to the Red Cross's own preliminary estimate, the damage from the burned property amounts to approximately 28 million hryvnias.

Staff and volunteers were not harmed

The Ukrainian Red Cross's statement emphasizes that there were no casualties among the organization's staff and volunteers as a result of the attack. This is a key fact that the organization placed at the center of its message to dispel questions about human losses in the destruction of material stockpiles.

The Red Cross continues its work in the region

Despite the destruction of the warehouse, the Ukrainian Red Cross stated that it continues its activities in Kherson and Kherson Oblast. According to the organization, mission teams are still providing the necessary assistance to people, meaning that the strike on the logistical facility did not paralyze humanitarian operations in the region.

Contradictory data

There is a significant discrepancy between sources in the assessment of material damage. RBC-Ukraine, Korrespondent, and Slovo i Dilo, citing the Red Cross's own statement, give a figure of nearly 28 million hryvnias. At the same time, the publication Delo.ua indicates in its headline and text a destroyed warehouse with humanitarian aid worth 80 million hryvnias. The difference of nearly three times between the two estimates has not been explained by either side, and the exact amount of damage cannot currently be confirmed — until an official clarification is issued by the Ukrainian Red Cross, both figures should be considered preliminary.

A series of strikes on Red Cross facilities

The Kherson warehouse is not the first such incident. On August 20, in the Borispil district, the occupiers struck food warehouses and Red Cross facilities, and fires broke out. On July 2, during a massive attack on Kyiv, a rented humanitarian warehouse base of the Ukrainian Red Cross was completely destroyed. Earlier still, in 2024, the office of the Kherson regional organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross was damaged during a shelling of Kherson. The totality of these episodes points to a recurring pattern of strikes on humanitarian infrastructure.