'Missile struck those who save lives' — 4 rescuers killed, 6 injured in Russian double-tap strike on Kharkiv
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A Russian double-tap strike killed four emergency responders and injured six others after they arrived at the scene of an earlier strike in Kharkiv overnight on June 15, Ukraine's Emergency Service confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
The attack occurred in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirskyi district, located in the city's northwest and an important railway hub with numerous industrial facilities.
The missile strike that began around 1:30 a.m. local time killed five people and injured 13 others in total. Five of the wounded were hospitalized, including a one-month-old infant. Two men remain in serious condition and are being treated in intensive care, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service identified the killed rescuers as Dmytro Boiko, Danylo Tishchenko, Serhii Makovetskyi, and Vadym Zinchenko. Among the dead is also a staff member of the city's emergency services department, Oleksii Dorozhkin, the statement read.
💔Чергова трагічна ніч для України.
— МВС України (@MVS_UA) June 15, 2026
Унаслідок повторного російського удару по цивільному підприємству в Харкові загинули четверо рятувальників, ще дев’ятеро отримали поранення.
Дмитрій Бойко, Данило Тіщенко, Сергій Маковецький та Вадим Зінченко.
Світла пам’ять🕯️ pic.twitter.com/AOpkxkdwjv
Syniehubov said that Russian forces first launched attack drones at the city, followed by several missile strikes targeting those responding to the aftermath of the initial attack.
Kharkiv City Emergency Department Director Bohdan Hladkykh told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that one of the missiles struck approximately 30 meters from rescuers who had left the grounds of a civilian enterprise hit in the attack and were standing in a forest belt.
"Unfortunately, the missile struck those who save lives," Hladkykh said.
One of the injured rescuers, Oleksandra Shchebilova, joined the State Emergency Service in 2026 and lost her right arm during the attack. She was hospitalized, the National University of Civil Protection, from which Shchebilova graduated this year, said on Instagram.
The attack on Kharkiv was part of a larger Russian assault on Ukraine overnight on June 15 that targeted several regions, with the main strike hitting Kyiv, where five people were killed and 35 others injured.
During the night, Russia launched 70 missiles at Ukraine, including 34 ballistic missiles, as well as 611 attack drones, the Air Force said.
