On October 9, 2025, the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine endured yet another harrowing day as Russian forces intensified their campaign of drone and artillery attacks, with devastating consequences for both civilians and those working tirelessly to restore the battered city. According to multiple Ukrainian regional officials and corroborated by several news outlets including Censor.NET, UNN, Ukrainska Pravda, and Ukrinform, a targeted Russian drone strike killed a municipal utility worker and left three of his colleagues fighting for their lives in the Korabelnyi district of Kherson. This attack formed part of a broader pattern of violence that swept across the region and other parts of eastern Ukraine, leaving a grim toll of fatalities, injuries, and widespread destruction.
The day’s violence began early, as Russian occupation forces unleashed a barrage of attacks on Kherson and the neighboring Beryslav districts. The arsenal included artillery, tanks, mortars, multiple launch rocket systems, aircraft, and a variety of drones. The settlements subjected to this onslaught were numerous: Kherson, Sadove, Antonivka, Kizomys, Prydniprovske, Sofiivka, Stanislav, Bilozerka, Naddnipryanske, Rozlyv, Velytenske, Inzhenerne, Zelenivka, Yantarne, Beryslav, Vysoke, Arkhanhelske, Khreschenivka, Mykhailivka, Kozatske, and Vesele all came under fire, according to Censor.NET.
As the attacks rained down, five private houses, a medical facility, an administrative building, a critical infrastructure facility, a sports club, a service station, a warehouse, four cars, and two utility rooms were reported damaged. In Tyahynka district, three guided aerial bombs were dropped, while unguided missiles were fired at Prydniprovske from helicopters. The violence was relentless and indiscriminate, with both residential and critical infrastructure bearing the brunt.
The morning brought further tragedy. In Antonivka, two local women, aged 64 and 65, were injured by explosives dropped from a UAV. Both suffered mine-blast injuries and shrapnel wounds, with the older woman requiring hospitalization. In Mykhailivka, a tank shell damaged a private home and a utility room, while in Kreschenivka, multiple rocket launchers struck a warehouse. In Inzhenerne, artillery fire damaged a medical facility, and in Zelenivka, an FPV drone hit a private house, causing more destruction.
After midnight, Bilozerka was shelled with artillery. A 58-year-old man was gravely wounded, suffering explosive injuries and shrapnel wounds to his face, ultimately succumbing to his injuries in intensive care. Two private homes in the village were also damaged, further compounding the misery for local residents.
By morning in the Korabelnyi district of Kherson, tragedy struck again. An FPV drone targeted a civilian car, killing a 60-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman. A 55-year-old woman was left with explosive trauma, contusions, and shrapnel wounds to her torso and legs. She was rushed to a medical facility by police officers who were themselves soon to become victims.
In the Dniprovsky district, a 55-year-old woman was injured by an explosive dropped from a drone, sustaining mine-blast trauma and shrapnel wounds to her head, neck, and abdomen. Subsequent drone attacks damaged an administrative building, adding to the mounting list of civilian infrastructure targeted that day.
The violence spared no one—not even the first responders. In the Central District, two police cars attending the scene of an earlier accident were attacked by an FPV drone. Four police officers, aged between 28 and 39, suffered contusions, head injuries, and concussions. Two civilians, aged 54 and 49, were also injured, sustaining explosive and craniocerebral injuries. The police vehicles were damaged in the attack, highlighting the risks faced by those attempting to provide aid and maintain order amid chaos.
But it was the events of 2:30 p.m. in the Korabelnyi district that would draw the most attention and outrage. As reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, on multiple platforms including his Facebook page and Telegram (as cited by UNN, Ukrainska Pravda, and Ukrinform), a Russian drone struck a municipal utility vehicle while it was operating in the area. The vehicle was occupied by water utility workers who had been engaged in efforts to restore essential services to Kherson’s residents—work that had become both critical and perilous since the intensification of Russian attacks.
The attack was devastatingly precise. The 50-year-old driver was killed instantly. His three colleagues, aged 44, 48, and 49, suffered concussions, shrapnel wounds, blast injuries, and closed-head trauma. All were hospitalized in critical condition, with medical staff doing everything possible to save their lives. As Oleksandr Prokudin emphasized, “The enemy deliberately targets Kherson’s civilian infrastructure, particularly those who restore the city daily after shelling.”
Yaroslav Shanko, another regional official, confirmed that the strike was aimed specifically at the water utility workers in the vehicle. Investigators and medical teams rushed to the scene, launching an immediate inquiry into the circumstances and ramifications of the attack. The incident followed earlier reports of a 58-year-old man also injured by shelling in the same district, underscoring the sustained threat facing Kherson’s civilian population and workers every day.
As Ukrainska Pravda and Ukrinform both reported, the condition of the three wounded utility workers was assessed as serious, with doctors closely monitoring their vital signs and providing urgent care. The attack was widely condemned as a deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and those responsible for its restoration—a grim tactic that has become all too familiar in the ongoing conflict.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the violence continued. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces attacked the cities of Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka. At 10:55 a.m., three FAB-250 bombs equipped with UMPK kits were dropped on Sloviansk, injuring three women and four men aged between 45 and 79. In Kostiantynivka, a 58-year-old woman was killed when an FPV drone struck a car at 11:35 a.m., and four others were injured. Over 40 residential buildings and six cars were damaged in these attacks, according to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office.
In Kherson, all emergency services were mobilized to manage the aftermath of the attacks. Police collected irrefutable evidence of Russian involvement in the shelling, and efforts to protect civilians and safeguard what remains of the city’s infrastructure pressed on, even as the dangers multiplied.
Each new strike underscores the peril faced by those living and working in Ukraine’s war-torn regions. For Kherson’s utility workers—once the unsung heroes of everyday life—the risks have never been greater, nor their courage more apparent.
