Russian drone strike on central Chernihiv kills two 15-year-old girls
Russian forces attacked central Chernihiv with a strike drone on 29 October 2026, killing two 15-year-old girls and injuring civilians, including children. Shops, cars and homes were damaged, and fires broke out. The reported number of injured rose through successive updates from two to 25.
Key points
- Two 15-year-old girls died in the 29 October strike on central Chernihiv.
- Both victims were pupils in the 10th grade at Chernihiv Lyceum No. 1.
- The number of injured rose from 2 to 25 as reports were updated; four were children.
- The youngest injured child was a 10-month-old girl.
- Eleven injured people were taken to city hospitals, while four received medical assistance at the scene.
- Fires broke out in shops and cars; rescue services extinguished the fires.
- The State Emergency Service provided psychological assistance to 17 people, including four children.
Why it matters
The attack killed two children and injured multiple civilians, including four children in the latest reported toll. It struck an ordinary central street where people were conducting daily activities, while no military object was identified at the impact site. Damage to shops, vehicles and homes prompted firefighting, medical response and cleanup work.
What happened
Russian forces attacked central Chernihiv with a strike drone on 29 October 2026. The drone fell in the central part of the city, where many civilians were on the streets, and a surveillance camera recorded the impact and ensuing explosion. Two 15-year-old girls were killed, and the number of injured increased through successive official updates. According to the State Emergency Service, the latest toll reached 25 injured people, including four children aged 10 months, 10, 16 and 17 years. Eleven injured people were taken to city hospitals and four received help at the scene. Shops, cars and homes were damaged, and fires in a shop and two cars were extinguished by rescue services. The State Emergency Service also provided psychological assistance to 17 people, four of them children.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting focused on the deaths of two 15-year-old pupils, the presence of children among the injured and the serious condition of two hospitalized siblings. Local officials and emergency services detailed the changing casualty figures, hospital admissions, firefighting and psychological assistance, emphasizing that civilians were engaged in everyday activities and that the struck sites had no military significance.
Where reporting differs
The number of injured changed from two to four, nine, 15, 22, 23 and finally 25 across successive updates, with discrepancies also in the reported number of children. Sources variously described the attacking drone as an attack drone, a reactive kamikaze drone and a Shahed-type “Banderolya”; one report said it fell in the central part of the city.
Background
Russian forces had attacked two private businesses in Chernihiv on 23 October, reportedly killing one person and injuring at least 25. A drone attack on the Epitsentr hypermarket on the night of 9 October damaged a shopping-centre roof and nearby apartment windows and caused a fire.