Ukraine: MSF Responds to Second Mass Casualty Incident in Days in Dnipropetrovsk Region

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces attacked civilian infrastructure in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on the evening of 26 October. One person was killed and seven were wounded in the street outside a food supermarket.
• An MSF emergency medical team treated seven patients with war-related injuries alongside local doctors. Four required surgery, including two ten-year-old girls.
• Pavlohrad is around 80 kilometres from the frontline and is currently almost constantly at the highest threat level for people.
• Three days earlier, MSF’s emergency team responded to a mass casualty incident in nearby Synelnykove after a strike on a residential building.
• Since the beginning of 2026, MSF has responded to 19 mass-casualty incidents across southern and eastern Ukraine, treating more than 250 patients with war-related injuries.

What Happened in Pavlohrad on 26 October?

Russian forces again attacked civilian infrastructure in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, on the evening of 26 October. One person was killed and seven were wounded in the street outside a food supermarket.

How Did MSF Respond to the Attack?

An emergency medical team from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), including anaesthetists and nurses, treated seven patients with war-related injuries alongside local doctors. Four patients required surgery, including two ten-year-old girls.

"One of the girls had a large lesion of the soft tissues of the right thigh, the second had a fracture of the left lower leg, also with massive soft tissue damage. A 36-year-old patient received a fracture of the femur followed by amputation, a 46-year-old patient suffered a fracture of the left lower leg," says Doctors Without Borders anesthesiologist Roman Gorenko. 

The wounded were on the street in the city centre, near a supermarket, when the attack occurred. Unfortunately, this is not the first case of mass admission of the wounded to this hospital. "We see that the local population suffers from shelling, going about their daily business. Now the city almost constantly has the highest, red level of danger," says Roman Horenko.

“Just three days ago, our emergency team responded to a mass casualty incident in nearby Synelnykove,” says Robin Meldrum, MSF’s Ukraine Country Director. “That was after a strike on a residential building – this one was on a food supermarket. Once again, we see civilians targeted while shopping, walking down the street, or simply inside their homes. I wake up every morning with a fear that some awful tragedy like this will happen in the areas where we work.”

MSF Mass-Casualty Response in 2026

Since the beginning of 2026, MSF has responded to 19 mass-casualty incidents across southern and eastern Ukraine, treating more than 250 patients with war-related injuries, in areas where our medical teams support frontline hospitals.

MSF Medical Activities in the Dnipropetrovsk Region

Doctors Without Borders medical teams continue to work in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Mobile clinics come to remote villages and shelters for displaced persons, medical teams support local hospitals, and ambulance teams transport the wounded and chronic patients.