Russian drones destroyed the house of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Vorskla” in Sumy region

Date: 19 March 2026
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On March 12, Russian forces carried out a targeted strike using two “Molniya” drones on the home of Oleksii Pasiuha, editor of the Vorskla newspaper. The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) reported the attack. The incident occurred in the village of Velyka Pysarivka, just a few kilometers from the Russian border.

A grainy, high-angle view shows a building engulfed in intense orange flames and thick grey smoke, with the tops of bare trees visible in the foreground. The destroyed home of Oleksii Pasiuha. Photo provided to IMI by Oleksii Pasiuha
According to Pasiuha, the first drone damaged a portion of the building, while the second struck the home directly, sparking a fire that leveled it completely.
He noted that the family did not have time to evacuate most of their belongings, as they had hoped to return home in the near future. However, they managed to save their family photo albums. The journalist added that his daughter is heartbroken over her prom dress, which was left behind in the flames.
 
Pasiuha shared that the destroyed house was a family legacy; its construction was started by his father, who also worked in journalism, and took nearly two decades to complete.
 
Despite the devastating loss, he emphasized that his family’s safety is what matters most, acknowledging that many others have suffered even greater tragedies during the war.
 
The Vorskla newspaper, led by Pasiuha, had previously been forced to relocate due to active hostilities — becoming one of only three print media outlets in the Sumy Oblast to undergo war-induced relocation.
 
Earlier, a Russian KAB-250 guided aerial bomb destroyed the editorial office of the Nashe Zhyttya newspaper in Novomykolaivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

You may also want to read: “No other country in the world has had reporters working under such conditions for years”: Russia’s war crimes against media, illustrated by the regional branches of Suspilne

Additionally, the premises of the Suspilne branch in Zaporizhzhia sustained damage during the shelling of the city. Fortunately, the team was unharmed as no one was in the building at the time of the strike.

In Dnipro, a massive Russian drone attack damaged the building housing the regional editorial offices of both Suspilne and Ukrainian Radio. The strike sparked a fire, shattered windows and doors, and caused significant damage to the building’s roof and structural ceilings.

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