On the night of August 28, 2026, Russian forces struck the "Epitsentr" shopping center in Mykolaiv several times. According to rescue services, the repeated hits damaged the sales floors, and fires broke out at the impact sites, which were subsequently extinguished by State Emergency Service (SES) crews. Two casualties were recorded at the scene. The situation was complicated by the nature of the attack: the strikes were delivered repeatedly, making it impossible to stabilize the situation and limiting firefighting operations.
Rescuers Working Under Constant Threat
The aftermath was dealt with under extremely difficult conditions. Due to the persistent threat of repeated strikes, rescue personnel had to be withdrawn to a safe distance on multiple occasions. As soon as the situation allowed, crews returned to work on localizing and extinguishing the fires. It is precisely this tactic — withdrawal and repeated re-approach to the burning structures — that is reflected in the footage from the scene, where the aerial ladder directs a stream of water onto the fire-engulfed part of the building.
A Targeted Campaign Against Business
The attack on the Mykolaiv "Epitsentr" became part of a broader series of strikes. On August 28, Russia struck an "Epitsentr" chain facility in Zaporizhzhia, where a major fire also broke out and people were injured; this is not the first attack on facilities of this chain. On the same day, other business structures across the country were also hit: logistics facilities of "Nova Poshta" were destroyed in Sumy and Kyiv Oblast. Taken together, the data shows that over two days — August 27 and 28 — Russia effectively carried out a targeted campaign against Ukrainian business: "Epitsentr," "Nova Poshta," Roshen, Comfy, "Fola," "Aurora," "Kolo," as well as bookstores and publishing houses were struck.
Contradictory Data
There are discrepancies between the statements and materials of different sources that are important to take into account. First, the type of munitions: according to TSN, drones hit the "Epitsentr" in Mykolaiv, whereas Focus.ua, in the context of attacks on the chain's infrastructure, describes a missile strike that destroyed the logistics and the "Epitsentr" plant in Kyiv Oblast. Second, the casualty figures: for Mykolaiv, two injured are reported, while for the facility in Kyiv Oblast, one employee is reported killed. Third, the geography: the base text focuses on Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, whereas glavred.info expands the picture to the Odesa region and mentions a destroyed shoe factory. These differences are related to the fact that several different facilities of the chain and different locations are involved, however, the precise attribution of each strike and the final balance of losses across all facilities remain subject to clarification at the time of publication.
Either way, the totality of facts indicates that the strikes on the retail and logistics facilities of a major retail and production chain were not an isolated incident but part of coordinated pressure on the civilian economy. Rescue services continue to work on eliminating the aftermath, and final data on damage and casualties is being clarified.
