On October 29, a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv killed five female employees of a branch of the Kharkiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This was reported by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as conveyed by RBC-Ukraine. All the victims were women who, after the liberation of the city, were among the first to return to their workplaces, clearing damaged premises, cleaning up shattered glass, and gradually resuming laboratory operations.
Stories Taken Away by the War
Viktoriia Prokopenko dedicated 36 years to the sanitary and epidemiological service. She headed the sanitary and hygienic laboratory and had dreamed of becoming a doctor since her school years. Colleagues remember her as a top-class specialist and a sympathetic person. On November 3, she would have turned 59. Viktoriia is survived by her husband, daughter, and grandson. Yuliia Dovzhenko worked as a laboratory assistant in the bacteriological laboratory for nearly 38 years. She is characterized as a sincere, benevolent, and responsible person. On November 2, she would have turned 57. Yuliia is survived by her husband, son, two granddaughters, and sister.
A Team That Wasn't Given Time to Say Goodbye
Valentyna Prus had been working as a sanitary and hygienic laboratory assistant since 2021 and during this time established herself as a responsible and professional specialist. She was 55 years old and is survived by her husband and daughter. Anzhela Prokhortseva worked as an accountant and returned to her duties after the de-occupation. On the day of the tragedy, she was talking on the phone with colleagues from the regional center: during the conversation, they heard the whistle of a Russian aerial bomb and then how the woman tried to save herself. After that, communication was cut off. Anzhela was 54 years old and is survived by two daughters. Olena Hryshchenko worked as a utility cleaner, taking care of cleanliness and proper working conditions for her colleagues. She joined the team relatively recently but quickly became an integral part of it. Olena was 58 years old.
Strikes on Kharkiv's Medical Infrastructure
The Ministry of Health expressed condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased employees. Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that during a massive Russian attack, Kharkiv came under fire, and a medical facility was also hit: as a result of the shelling, at least 73 people were injured, and hospital buildings, a medical laboratory, 10 apartment buildings, and 13 cars were damaged. Due to infrastructure attacks, heat and hot water partially disappeared in the city. The death of the five employees of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has become further confirmation that the Russian side deliberately targets facilities related to the restoration of life in liberated cities.
Context: Post-Liberation Reconstruction Under Threat
The stories of the deceased employees demonstrate a systemic problem: specialists who are the first to return to work to restore critical infrastructure find themselves in direct danger. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention play a key role in monitoring the epidemiological situation, especially in conditions where part of the medical infrastructure is destroyed. The loss of experienced specialists with many years of experience—from 36 to 38 years—means not only a human tragedy, but also the loss of professional competencies that cannot be quickly replaced. As of the date of publication, November 6, 2026, the information about the victims has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
