Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders
MSF sees over 60 patients admitted in mass casualty incident
14 September 2026 – Three Russian drones struck a busy shopping mall in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, on 10 September 2026, killing and wounding people who were simply shopping or having coffee. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams worked alongside local medical staff to treat 67 people in a major mass casualty event.
The attack took place in the afternoon in a residential area, close to a children's playground, a public transport stop and a café. Among those injured were elderly people and children. According to local authorities, five people were killed. An MSF nurse working in one of the main hospitals in Pavlohrad helped with the immediate triage of patients, while MSF urgently brought in anaesthetists, experienced doctors and paramedics from other locations to help as the scale of the carnage became clear.
“Our teams were working across several departments. While we were providing critical care in the intensive care unit, new patients were still arriving in the emergency department,” says an MSF nurse Oksana*. “I was working with two women who had moderate injuries – and then I had to switch to a 29-year-old man in critical condition with a penetrating abdominal injury.”
“Unfortunately, one patient had already died from their injuries by the time they were brought to the hospital. Another patient died in the intensive care unit from injuries that were incompatible with life,” says Mariia Khvalbota, an MSF anaesthetist. “There were many patients with complex injuries, including burns, internal organ damage, severe bleeding and head and traumatic brain injuries. Eight children were urgently referred to hospitals in Dnipro city, together with local medical teams, for specialised care.”
Since the beginning of August, Russian forces have struck at least six shopping centres in other cities of Ukraine where MSF teams are working – Dnipro, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia – as well as scores of food shops and home goods stores.
“This feels increasingly like a war waged against civilians,” says Robin Meldrum, Country Director for MSF in Ukraine. “People are being forced to live with the constant fear that the next target could be their home, their neighbourhood or their local shops. In many cities in Ukraine, people spend their time making life-or-death decisions about going to shelter or not, leaving their house, going shopping, commuting to and from work.”
*Name changed to protect anonymity
Notes
In July, MSF released the report, No Safe Place to Heal, documenting relentless attacks on healthcare and medical personnel in Ukraine. The findings show these attacks constitute a deliberate strategy to destroy the medical system and collectively punish people — rather than being an incidental product of Russia's invasion.
MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au.