Russian forces killed two medical workers after striking an ambulance with a first-person-view (FPV) drone in Kharkiv Oblast early on 15 March, Ukrainian prosecutors said.
According to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, the attack took place around 05:00 near the village of Chervona Khvylia in Kupiansk district. Russian troops allegedly carried out a targeted FPV drone strike on an emergency medical vehicle that was traveling along the road.
The drone strike killed a 27-year-old doctor and a medical technician, prosecutors said. A third member of the ambulance crew, a 53-year-old medical worker, was wounded and hospitalized.
Authorities said investigators opened a criminal case into a war crime resulting in deaths.
Drones, artillery, and aerial bombs hit across Kharkiv Oblast
Regional police reported that Russian forces used various weapons against civilians across several districts of Kharkiv Oblast, including drones, artillery, and guided aerial bombs.
In Kupiansk, Russian artillery fire wounded a 63-year-old local resident, according to police.
Investigators also documented damage to homes in the village of Spodobivka and to property belonging to a civilian enterprise in the village of Prykolotne in Kupiansk district.
Further strikes were reported in Chuhuiv district, where power lines were damaged. In the village of Khotimlia, a recreation base was destroyed and caught fire, and a residential building was damaged.
Drone strikes also damaged railway infrastructure in the Zolochiv community, police said. Additional hits were recorded in Kharkiv district and the Liubotyn community, where private homes, a warehouse building, a rural cultural club, and civilian vehicles were damaged.
Ukrainian police said they inspected the strike sites on 14 March and registered multiple criminal proceedings related to Russia’s armed aggression.
Kupiansk area under persistent attack since 2022
Kharkiv Oblast, which borders Russia in northeastern Ukraine, has been a constant target of Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Although Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops away from much of the region during a major counteroffensive later that year, frontline areas around Kupiansk and nearby border communities remain exposed to regular drone, artillery, and aerial strikes.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure and settlements in these areas as fighting continues along the eastern front.
