Russian Strike Burns Down Zaporizhzhia’s Last Operating Epicentr Hypermarket

On Friday, August 28, Russian forces launched a strike on the last operating Epicentr hypermarket in Zaporizhzhia, causing significant damage and injuries. According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov, at least four individuals were injured in the attack. The building sustained damage, and explosions were heard around 7:30 a.m. local time, prompting authorities to warn of a threat from Russian attack drones.

The previous day, on Thursday, August 27, Russian forces targeted an Epicentr shopping center in Kharkiv, killing one person and injuring five others in a strike carried out with a jet-powered drone. The deceased victim was 40 years old, though his identity was still being confirmed. Among the injured, a 25-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man sustained injuries, along with three others – two women aged 26 and 58, and a 38-year-old man – who experienced acute stress reactions.

All received medical assistance. This attack is part of a series of Russian assaults on Epicentr stores, warehouses, and production facilities across Ukraine. In August, Russian forces struck an Epicentr facility in Zaporizhzhia, resulting in extensive damage and a fire, though no injuries were reported. Earlier in the month, on August 5, a Russian missile and drone barrage severely damaged two Epicentr logistic complexes in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, as well as the company’s Ceramic Corporation plant.

One employee lost their life, and three others sustained injuries. The hardware retail chain reported that a logistics center on Viskozna Street in Kyiv was entirely destroyed by fire, while a separate logistics and production complex in Kalynivka, Kyiv Oblast, was directly hit. Russian attacks have also targeted Epicentr stores in other regions, including Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where a missile destroyed a store covering over 11,000 square meters in May 2024, resulting in no injuries.

Throughout the full-scale invasion since 2022, Russian attacks have destroyed seven Epicentr shopping centers in various Ukrainian cities, including Mariupol, Chernihiv, Bucha, Nikopol, Kharkiv, and two locations in Kherson. In May 2024, two guided aerial bombs hit an Epicentr shopping center in Kharkiv, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people and injuries to numerous others.

On August 21, Russian forces struck a separate shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih using jet-powered drones, causing at least 15 deaths and over 130 injuries, many of which were children.