On the morning of August 11, 2023, ADRA Ukraine’s humanitarian aid warehouse in Beryslav, Kherson, received a scheduled shipment of humanitarian aid that the team of volunteers planned to deliver to beneficiaries that same day. At the same time, a Russian drone hovering over the delivery site dropped three rounds of ammunition, damaging the vehicle provided to the charity by local activists. ADRA Ukraine staff managed to run for cover a few seconds before the explosions and suffered only mild contusions.
Marina, one of the ADRA Ukraine volunteers, said, “It happened at 7:50–7:55 a.m. We were delivering food parcels to the village of Novoberyslav, where 344 people live. As we were loading the last box and getting ready to leave, we heard the sound of a drone. We looked up and saw it hovering directly above us. The boys shouted ‘Take cover!’ and we all ran for cover. A second later, the drone started dropping ammunition. It dropped three rounds in one minute—one directly on the bonnet of a car, the second between the second car and a Gazelle truck, and the third in front of the Gazelle itself. Luckily, we were in the bunker by then, so everyone was alive and well, but I got a slight concussion from those explosions and still have a headache.”
After the attack, it was discovered that three of the vehicles had punctured wheels and radiators, smashed windows, and some broken doors, so the aid could not be delivered to Novoberyslav that day. It should be noted that these vehicles were temporarily provided to the charity by activists and the head of the village, the residents of which were the intended food parcel recipients—the volume of humanitarian aid did not allow it to be transported exclusively by ADRA Ukraine vehicles.
The humanitarian cargo itself was not damaged and was returned to the warehouse from the damaged vehicles. The charity’s staff called the police, who recorded the crime and all the damage.
The original version of this story was posted on the Ukrainian Union Conference Ukrainian-language news site.
