In July 2025, the number of Russian military attacks on Ukrainian emergency services tripled, reaching 16 incidents. Deliberate "double tap" attacks on fire and medical vehicles violate the Geneva Convention and can be classified as war crimes. This is reported by UNN with reference to Sky News analytics.
Details
Since January 2024, at least 82 cases have been documented in Ukraine where Russian drones or artillery deliberately hit emergency service vehicles. A particularly sharp increase occurred in July of this year — up to 16 attacks, which is three times more than in June.
Russians are targeting ambulances to undermine the will of Ukrainians to fight. They want to convince Ukrainians not to become medics, not to be volunteers, they want to make it as dangerous as possible
Russia actively uses the "double tap" tactic — first striking civilian infrastructure, and then attacking rescuers who arrive at the scene. Videos from FPV drone cameras show that clearly marked fire and medical vehicles are targeted.
The Russians are watching us, and in their social networks they warn that we are a priority target for them. We are being hunted
The largest attacks in 2025 that affected rescue workers:
• Nikopol, August — artillery shelling hit an ambulance while it was responding to a previous strike. 23-year-old rescuer Danylo Khyzhniak was killed.
• Kherson, July — a series of FPV drone strikes on fire trucks, confirmed by videos from Russian operators.
• Dnipro, June — a State Emergency Service vehicle was destroyed while extinguishing a fire after shelling.
• Odesa region, May — a strike on an ambulance transporting wounded civilians.
It is important to note that such actions directly violate Article 15 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which obliges the protection of medical and rescue personnel.
Recall
On August 13, in the Kherson and Donetsk regions, Russian drones attacked passenger cars and an ambulance. As a result of the attacks, one person was killed and five others were injured.
In addition, in July, in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a Russian UAV attacked rescuers of the local fire department. This happened during the evacuation of civilians from the dangerous zone.