---
title: "Strike on the \"Epitsentr\" in Kharkiv: a \"Geran-4\" drone hit the shopping center, an employee injured"
description: "On the morning of September 17, 2026, Russian military forces struck the \"Epitsentr\" shopping center in Kharkiv with a jet-powered drone. A 65-year-old employee was injured, and an investigation has been opened under the article on war crimes."
date: 2026-09-17T10:40:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/strike-on-epitsentr-in-kharkiv-september-17-en
tags: [kharkiv, epitsentr, drone-attack, geran-4, ukraine-war, prosecutors-office]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Strike on the "Epitsentr" in Kharkiv: a "Geran-4" drone hit the shopping center, an employee injured

![Destruction at the EpiCentre shopping mall in Kharkiv after a Geran-4 drone strike: collapsed walls, damaged fencing and debris](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/18/udar-po-epitsentru-v-harkove-17-sentyabrya/udar-po-epitsentru-v-harkove-17-sentyabrya-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- On September 17, 2026, at approximately 9:50, a Russian "Geran-4" drone struck the "Epitsentr" shopping center in the Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv.
- A 65-year-old employee of the shopping center was injured with an acute stress reaction; no fatalities are reported in this episode.
- The Slobodskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Kharkiv opened an investigation under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crime).
- Materials about a man's death refer to an earlier strike on the same shopping center in May 2024 and are not mixed with the current event.

On the morning of September 17, 2026, Russian military forces struck the "Epitsentr" shopping center in the Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office. According to preliminary investigation data, the attack was carried out using a strike unmanned aerial vehicle — a jet-powered drone of the "Geran-4" type. As a result of the strike, a 65-year-old employee of the shopping center was injured; medical personnel diagnosed her with an acute stress reaction.

### Timeline and circumstances of the attack

According to investigation data, the incident occurred at approximately 9:50 local time. Russian military forces attacked the facility in the Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv, using a jet-powered drone. Structural damage was recorded at the scene: the published footage shows deformed metal frames, collapsed sections of fencing, damaged blue facade panels, and scattered construction materials. The prosecutor's office emphasizes that the target of the strike was a civilian object — an operating shopping center, which is classified as an attack on the civilian population and infrastructure.

### Consequences and the condition of the injured

The only confirmed casualty of the morning strike was a 65-year-old employee of the shopping center. According to the prosecutor's office, medical personnel diagnosed the woman with an acute stress reaction — a condition characteristic of experienced shock, with no indication of serious bodily injury or fatal outcome. At the time of publication, there was no information about any deaths resulting from this specific attack.

### Legal consequences

Under the procedural supervision of the Slobodskyi District Prosecutor's Office of the city of Kharkiv, a pre-trial investigation has already been opened on the facts of the commission of a war crime — Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This means that the actions that led to the strike on a civilian object are being treated by law enforcement agencies as a crime against peace and the security of humanity, rather than as an ordinary incident.

### Contradictory data

The body of verified sources contains a significant discrepancy that is important to clarify. Some publications (in particular, materials from RFI and Liga.net) describe a strike on the "Epitsentr" hypermarket in Kharkiv in which a man was killed and which triggered international reactions with assessments of "atrocities" and "terrorism." However, by date and details, these materials refer to an earlier event — the attack of May 26, 2024 — and not to the incident of September 17, 2026. Thus, the version about a fatality and the version about the injured 65-year-old employee with an acute stress reaction relate to different episodes of strikes on the same object and must not be mixed. For the current event of September 17, 2026, only the injury (stress condition) of one woman has been officially confirmed.

### Context: night attack on the railway station

The strike on the "Epitsentr" was part of a broader wave of attacks on Kharkiv Oblast. According to data for the same date, overnight Russian military forces also struck a railway station in Kharkiv Oblast. The combination of strikes on shopping centers and transport infrastructure indicates deliberate pressure on civilian objects in the region over the course of a day.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Russians struck the "Epitsentr" in Kharkiv, a woman injured (photos, video)](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/rosiyani-vdarili-epitsentru-harkovi-postrazhdala-1789641103.html) - Первичный источник по событию 17.09.2026: удар дроном, пострадала 65-летняя сотрудница, расследование по ст. 438 УК.
- [This was the last surviving "Epitsentr": details of the morning drone attack on Kharkiv](https://24tv.ua/ru/udar-po-jepicentru-harkove-17-sentjabrja-kakie-posledstvija-imela_n3144062) - Подтверждает утреннюю атаку дронов на ТЦ в Харькове 17 сентября и контекст последствий.
- ["Atrocities" and "terrorism": world reactions to the strike on the "Epitsentr" hypermarket in Kharkiv](https://www.rfi.fr/ru/%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0/20240526-%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE-%D0%B8-%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%80-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B2-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%83-%D1%8D%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80-%D0%B2-%D1%85%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5) - По дате (20240526) относится к удару 26 мая 2024 г., а не к 17.09.2026; использовано только для контекста и разграничения версий.
- [Russia struck the "Epitsentr" in Kharkiv. A man killed – photos, video](https://biz.liga.net/fmcg/news/rossiya-nanesla-udar-po-epitsentru-v-harkove-pogib-muzhchina-foto-video) - Версия о гибели мужчины относится к более раннему (2024) эпизоду; не совпадает с данными прокуратуры по 17.09.2026, где пострадала только одна женщина.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What happened at the "Epitsentr" in Kharkiv on September 17, 2026?
**A:** At approximately 9:50, Russian military forces struck the shopping center in the Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv with a "Geran-4" jet-powered drone. A 65-year-old employee of the shopping center was injured.

### Q: Are there any fatalities as a result of this strike?
**A:** According to the prosecutor's office at the time of publication, no fatalities were reported in the episode of September 17, 2026; the only injured person was a 65-year-old woman with an acute stress reaction.

### Q: Why do some sources mention a dead man?
**A:** Materials about a man's death refer to an earlier strike on the same hypermarket in May 2024 and do not relate to the event of September 17, 2026.

### Q: What legal consequences followed?
**A:** The Slobodskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Kharkiv opened a pre-trial investigation under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — a war crime.