The attacks on Ukrainian cities continue relentlessly. Time and again civilian infrastructure is targeted. Just recently a train station in Dnipro was bombed with 14 people killed. Last night Dnipro and other cities were hit again. A report from our Infield Operations Coordinator Moto Michikata.
Cover photo: The aftermath of an attack on a super market in Dnipro, August 2024. 

Since the weekend, the threat of ballistic missile attacks has been high. On Friday and Saturday the previous week, we have spent numerous hours sheltering due to non-jet and jet powered drones flying over the guest house. One drone after another, they kept flying towards Dnipro city. On Friday for example, drones circled over the city for hours. When such patterns emerge, the drones are capturing and collecting visual data for future attacks, testing communication systems between near-by drones and other reasons.

And when such patterns emerge, we know that we are going to get attacked.

On Monday night at a nightly address by the Ukrainian President, the announcement was made of a new massive attack in Ukraine targeting energy infrastructure and logistics. On Telegram channels, information appeared from multiple sources that the attacks could start at approximately 03:00 on Tuesday morning.

At 23:50 on Friday, we sheltered due to a jet drone. At around the same time, we received a request to pick-up a patient from Pavlohrad at 01:30, just over an hour away from the guest house. Crossing bridges between the right bank (guest house) and the left bank (en route to Pavlohrad) have become more and more challenging as increasing number of attacks have been happening on the bridges lately, not only in Dnipro but also in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia. We un-sheltered at 00:01 and the ambulance team drove to Pavlohrad.

Photo montage from screenshots from two Telegram channels informing about last nights attacks on cities in Ukraine and their effects.

Knowing I could potentially sleep for about three hours until the ballistics strike Ukraine, I went to bed unnervingly, knowing I will be woken up in a few hours by the sound of an air alert app on my phone.

At 02:32, the air alert sounded. A ballistic threat from Voronezh which would concern Dnipro City. I stayed alert and continued to monitor the Telegram channel. At 02:32, confirmation of a launch heading towards Dnipro. I shouted ‘SHELTER’ to alert the guest house residents to wake up. Then more and more launches of the ballistics from all directions targeting energy infrastructures in different parts of the country.

One explosion, two explosions, three explosions and it continued. We un-sheltered at 03:45 but knowing cruise missiles have been launched and they could potentially enter the Ukraine airspace between 04:00 and 05:00, stayed awake just in case if KABs (guided aerial bombs) or any other threats are thrown into an eventful sleepless night.

At 06:06. cruise missiles heading towards Dnipro and we sheltered. We heard many loud explosions, some targeting a thermal power plant near-by. When I surfaced above ground after un-sheltering, I saw plumes of smoke over the power plant across the river. I started doing laundry, charging phones, lamps etc., knowing there will be scheduled (or un-scheduled) power cuts today as a result of more strikes on energy infrastructure. Last Saturday for example, there was a wider power cut across the city so the guest house was running on a generator. And we did not have water supply either.

CADUS ambulance late at night during a MedEvac in Ukraine. Photo: CADUS

Then the drones appeared, possibly for reconnaissance to observe the extent of the damage. Then another batch of cruise missiles towards Dnipro City so we sheltered again at 08:22.

I hardly slept for two hours but life goes on and here I am writing what happened a few hours ago. The team is still asleep.

And the ambulance team that was dispatched to Pavlohrad at midnight? They had to shelter at a hospital in Dnipro until it was safe for them to travel home. They returned back to the guest house at 04:30.

I can feel today is going to be a long and tiring day. And outside the drones are still flying near us.