(PAVLOHRAD, DNIPROPETROVSK OBLAST) – Two people have been killed and at least 18 injured in a Russian attack on Pavlohrad, with cars, retail pavilions and a shop set alight by the strike.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, confirmed the casualties, according to UNN. Reports circulating online claim the Gulliver shopping mall was hit, though there is no official confirmation of this at present.
The attack came a day after Russian forces deliberately struck the grounds of a shopping and entertainment centre in Sumy on 9th September, leaving dead and injured.
The strike on Pavlohrad follows a deadly pattern for Ukraine’s retail sector. On 21st August, a Russian drone attack on the “Soniachna Halereia” shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, killed 16 people and injured 130 visitors and employees. Local media, citing testimony from staff, reported that most stores had recently stopped closing during alerts and that salespeople had stopped moving to shelters on the administration’s instructions. One food court employee was reportedly told to remain on duty near an escalator during the alert because security personnel had gone down to the shelter.
According to estimates by the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, Russian forces have destroyed three shopping centres and damaged another nine across Ukraine since the beginning of 2026, with most of the attacks occurring in August. Within a matter of weeks, the “Olympia” shopping and entertainment centre in Pavlohrad, the “Soniachna Halereia” centre in Kryvyi Rih, “Oscar” in Kherson, and “Karavan” in Dnipro were all affected.
The industry’s direct losses from this year’s attacks have reached UAH 3.226 billion, equivalent to approximately $72.5 million or £57.3 million at the exchange rate as of 31st August. Maksym Havriushyn, head of the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, said the true figure is far higher: “This is only the cost of restoring destroyed and damaged facilities. This figure does not include lost profits, forced downtime, the costs of restoring operations, business relocations, or other indirect consequences. In fact, the real cost to the industry is significantly higher.”
In Kyiv, meanwhile, shopping centres are changing their operating rules during alerts from 10th September. Under a decision adopted by the Kyiv Defence Council on 7th September and effective from midnight on 10th September, the capital now uses a differentiated alert system. A “yellow” level indicates a drone threat, while a “red” level is announced for mass drone, missile, or combined missile and drone attacks.
Shopping centres including DREAM, Retroville, River Mall, and Victoria Gardens may operate during the “yellow” level, though individual tenants determine their own hours in line with their own safety protocols and business conditions. TSUM and Ocean Plaza will continue to close during all alerts, regardless of the threat level. Kyiv city authorities said the operating schedules of catering establishments, entertainment venues and shopping centres would not change from 10th September, though the city’s decision does not require every centre to remain open during every drone threat. Operations may be suspended if the alert escalates to the “red” level.
Visitors are advised to check a centre’s current operating hours before travelling, as individual stores may temporarily stop serving customers even where the administration has chosen not to suspend operations. They should also note that the alert system switches automatically to the corresponding level if the nature of the danger changes, and that a separate “all clear” signal is not issued between different types of threat.
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