On the afternoon of August 19, Russian forces attacked Zhytomyr with jet-powered drones. A strike hit the building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Region.
The attack was reported by Vitalii Bunечко, head of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration.
Following the strike, fires broke out in Zhytomyr. DSNS rescuers, emergency medical teams, police officers and other specialized services are working at the impact sites. Emergency personnel are carrying out rescue operations and providing assistance to those affected.
All Necessary Emergency Services Are Working in the City
Preliminary reports from local monitoring channels indicated that another impact may have occurred in a park on the boulevard. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.
Rescuers are working to extinguish the fires, while emergency medical teams are providing assistance to people at the scene. Police officers and other services are also involved in dealing with the consequences of the attack.
Information about the number of fatalities and injuries is currently being clarified. The full extent of the damage will become known after initial emergency operations and official inspections of the affected sites are completed.
Residents of Zhytomyr are urged not to approach the impact sites and not to interfere with the work of emergency services.
This is not the first attack involving jet-powered drones against Zhytomyr Region. During the previous large-scale attack on August 9, strikes were recorded in the region, civilian facilities and a private enterprise were damaged, and three people were injured.
On August 19, 2026, the Russian military attacked Zhytomyr with jet-powered drones. A strike hit the building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Region. Information about fatalities and injuries is currently being clarified.
The attack was reported by Vitalii Bunечко, head of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration, on his Facebook page.
“The building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Region was hit. DSNS rescuers, emergency medical teams and all necessary specialized services are working at the scene. Information about fatalities and injuries is currently being clarified.
I ask everyone to remain calm, not to share photos or videos from the scene, and to rely only on official sources,” Bunечко wrote.
Journalists from Suspilne Zhytomyr went to the scene. According to correspondent Dmytro Klymenko, firefighters and emergency services were working at the site, while efforts to extinguish the fire were underway.
“The central entrance area of the building was damaged: windows, the main entrance doors and part of the roof. Some furniture at the regional children's library was also damaged. A chapel located nearby, between Novyi Boulevard and Universytetska Street, was damaged as well, as were several cafés in the park area near the five-story buildings.
Several dozen vehicles parked on Universytetska Street and adjacent streets were also damaged. There are currently large amounts of stones, metal rods, wooden sticks and other construction debris scattered at the intersection as a result of the Russian strikes.
Several fire engines are working at the scene, and numerous emergency medical teams are on standby. People are seeking medical assistance, and doctors are either taking them away for further care or providing assistance directly at the scene,” Dmytro Klymenko said.
The director of the Zhytomyr Regional Library for Children and Youth, Larysa Mozhova, told Suspilne that there were no staff members or readers inside the library during the air raid.
“After the explosions, people who were injured during the drone attack came to the library, and we treated their wounds. As of 5:20 p.m., representatives of the Zhytomyr Regional Council's property management department are working at the library to document the damage.
We are currently covering the broken windows with plywood and temporarily increasing security at the building. The library will be closed on August 20, and all employees will be cleaning up the consequences of the explosion,” Larysa Mozhova said.
Correspondents also spoke with people who were near the site of the attack.
“Something was flying, and then I suddenly heard: ‘Boom!’ The blast wave hit me on the head, like a warm flash. Then I heard another ‘boom’ about 20 seconds later. I waited until the air raid alert was over and left,” said a Zhytomyr resident, Vadym.
