Russian drone strike kills man in Chernihiv Oblast amid wider attacks on Ukraine

Russian overnight attacks on 31 May killed a 58-year-old man in Chernihiv Oblast, ignited fires at industrial sites in Rivne and Dnipro, and damaged civilian infrastructure and a historic church in Donetsk Oblast.

Aftermath of Russian attack on the Chernihiv Oblast

A Russian drone attack killed a 58-year-old man at a commercial facility in the Koriukivka District of the Chernihiv Oblast overnight, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The Russian drone struck the site. 

Emergency workers discovered the 58-year-old man’s body while responding to the aftermath of the attack.

Aftermath of Russian attack on the Chernihiv Oblast

The strike also ignited a fire in a car park. The blaze destroyed seven lorries.

Russians also struck a disused industrial facility in the Rivne Oblast and attacked the city of Dnipro on 31 May, igniting fires at both locations, according to Oleksandr Koval, head of the Rivne Oblast Military Administration and Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration.

Koval reported that Russia launched an aerial attack on Rivne Oblast on 31 May.

He said the strike targeted a disused industrial facility.

“Early reports indicate that no people were injured. All the appropriate services are working at the scene,” Koval reported.

Separately, Hanzha reported on 31 May that Russian forces struck Dnipro.

Moreover, a nighttime Russian drone strike damaged Nova Poshta Branch No. 1 in Sloviansk, the Donetsk Oblast, and in Dnipro city, the postal operator’s press service reported. The company stated that no employees were injured. Rescue workers and police are on the scene, and an assessment of the aftermath of the attack is ongoing.

On the eve of Trinity Sunday on 31 May, Russian forces destroyed the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Zakitne in the Donetsk Oblast. Russians dropped an incendiary munition on the roof of the church, the 81st Airmobile Slobozhanska Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces reported.

Meanwhile, Romanian President Nicușor Dan stated on the BBC World Service Weekend programme on 31 May that “when Russians are hitting towns on the other side of the Danube River, they have to be sure that they do not provoke injuries for Romanian citizens”. In this interview, Nicușor Dan made no mention of the unlawfulness of Russia’s strikes on Ukraine or the need to stop them. He demanded only that strikes on Ukrainian targets cause no harm to Romanians. However, during a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 29 May, Dan stated that “Russia must end its attacks” on Ukraine.