'No military justification' — Russian daytime drone attack on Chernihiv supermarket kills 2, including child, injures 25

Russia launched a drone attack at a busy supermarket in Chernihiv on July 26, hitting the store in the middle of the day as families were shopping for groceries.

The attack killed two people, including a 9-year-old girl, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported. Another 25 victims were injured.

"This is a deliberate act of Russian terror that has no military justification," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, calling for stronger sanctions against Russia and more support for Ukraine's aerial defense.

During the afternoon on July 26, a Russian drone hit an ATB supermarket in the northern city of Chernihiv, local authorities said. A car service station and a warehouse were also attacked. The drone strike inflicted large-scale damage, including fires at the attack sites and civilian casualties.

ATB owns the largest network of retail shops in Ukraine, operating over 1,200 stores across the country. More than one million Ukrainians shop at ATB's discount grocery stores each day. Zelensky described the attack on the ATB location in Chernihiv as "a completely cynical drone strike" against "a regular supermarket."

Comments from local law enforcement point to an intentional strike on a civilian tareget.

The market was hit by a Russian Shahed-type Geran-4 drone, Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Chernihiv regional police, told the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne. The drone was equipped with a video camera, indicating that Russia deliberately attacked a civilian target in broad daylight.

"This indicates that these are not acts of war; they are acts of terrorism, acts of their senseless hatred toward everything associated with Ukrainian identity and Ukraine," Tymoshko said. "In particular, their hatred toward any person, including civilians."

Emergency response crews have completed their work at the attack sites and all fires have been extinguished, the State Emergency Service said. The attack killed two people, including a child, and injured 25 others.

At least three of the injured victims have been hospitalized, Chernihiv Oblast Governor Viacheslav Chaus reported. There are also three children among the injured.

Chernhiv will observe a day of mourning in memory of the victims on July 27, according to Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, head of the Chernihiv City Military Administration.

Ukraine's Chernihiv borders Russia for roughly 230 kilometers (143 miles) and has faced frequent cross-border attacks throughout the full-scale war due to its proximity to Russian territory. A ballistic missile strike against the city's commercial center in May killed three people, including a teenager, and injured nearly 30 others.