Russia killed 2-year-old twin brothers, a 2-year-old sister, and their father with a drone in Bohodukhiv, Ukraine. The pregnant mother was injured.

On the night of February 11, 2026, a Russian attack drone hit a private house in the city of Bohodukhiv in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The strike targeted a residential area, not a military facility: the house was completely destroyed, a fire broke out at the site, and people were trapped under the debris.

Rescuers and medics were already working in “every minute counts” mode. As a result of the tragedy, a 34-year-old man and his three children — two one-year-old twin brothers and their two-year-old sister — died. A 35-year-old pregnant woman, the children’s mother, was injured. A 73-year-old neighbor also suffered, with doctors noting an acute stress reaction.

This story painfully affected even those who have long lived far from the front lines: in such attacks, there is no “logic of war” — it’s a strike on a home, a family, the smallest ones. And it’s yet another episode in a series of strikes on the Kharkiv region, where drones and missiles increasingly hit energy and private sectors.

What happened in Bohodukhiv that night

Strike on the house and rescuers’ work

According to emergency services, the drone hit a private house, after which the structure effectively ceased to exist as a house: part of the constructions collapsed immediately, the rest burned during the fire extinguishing. Rescuers were clearing the debris and simultaneously extinguishing the fire.

The bodies of four deceased — a man and three children — were retrieved from under the debris. Medics worked simultaneously: the injuries of the survivors were not “light” but required hospitalization and constant monitoring.

Sappers were involved on-site (due to the risk of secondary explosive elements and the need for safe debris clearing), dog handlers (to ensure no people were left under the debris), and psychologists — for those who survived the strike and for neighbors who were nearby at the time of the tragedy.

Injuries of the pregnant mother

The children’s mother was at the 35th week of pregnancy. A complex of injuries was reported: explosive injury, traumatic brain injury, concussion, burns. In such cases, the risks are double — for both the woman and the future child, so doctors usually manage the patient with maximum caution, assessing the consequences step by step, without hasty predictions.

It was separately noted that on the same night, assistance was needed for a 73-year-old neighbor who experienced an acute stress reaction. In human terms, this means a simple thing: a person might not have received physical injuries, but “everything inside broke” from what was seen and experienced.

What is known about the type of drone

According to preliminary data, the strike might have been carried out by a drone of the “Geran-2” type. In such cases, the wording “preliminary” is crucial: final confirmation usually depends on the results of debris inspection, examinations, and investigative conclusions.

Who was the deceased father and why this episode sounds especially heavy

Demobilized soldier who returned after injury

The deceased 34-year-old man was a demobilized soldier. Reports emphasized that he returned from the war after a severe injury and lived with a disability: it involved amputation and a prosthesis.

Here, it’s important not to “add drama,” as it is already present. The person went through the front, survived, returned home, tried to rebuild life — and died with his children in his own home, not at a position, not in a trench, but in a room where there should be toys and a crib.

It was also mentioned that there is another soldier in the family — the deceased’s brother, who also demobilized after an injury. This underscores a simple fact: it’s not about a “random” family without a connection to the war, but about people who have already paid their price to the war.

Recent move and “the house that was supposed to be safe”

According to data voiced by local representatives, the family moved to the house in Bohodukhiv about a week before the tragedy — to a home they purchased. Before that, they lived in other settlements in the region.

Such details always cut especially sharply: people often move in hopes of finding a quieter place, “waiting it out,” rebuilding life anew. But drones and missiles destroy the very idea of a “quiet corner” in frontline regions.

And that’s why the reaction to such news in Israeli Russian-speaking families is a separate reality: many have relatives in Kharkiv, Bohodukhiv, Zolochiv community, in villages and small towns. It’s not just a headline. It’s dozens of messages “are you in touch?”, it’s short voice messages, it’s silence that frightens. In this sense, NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency captures not only the fact of the strike but also how the war, through such stories, reaches even those who have long been physically in another country.

Authorities’ reaction, mourning, and context of strikes on the Kharkiv region

Three days of mourning in Bohodukhiv

City authorities declared February 11, 12, and 13 as days of mourning. This usually means the cancellation of entertainment events, restriction of loud music and public celebrations, lowered flags, official condolences from the community.

The mayor emphasized that the strike on the house is a crime that “goes beyond human understanding,” and separately mentioned that the mother and grandmother are fighting for their lives under medical supervision. For a small town, such words sound not like a “political speech,” but as an attempt to somehow name what cannot be accepted.

Reaction of Kyiv and Zelensky’s words

The President of Ukraine reacted emotionally to the death of the children and their father, emphasizing that Russia does not intend to stop. In such statements, there are usually two layers.

The first is human: to name the deceased, to emphasize that it’s about small children, a family, a home. The second is political and practical: to remind again of the need to strengthen air defense and that every delay in decisions at the international level is measured in specific lives.

Context: this is not a single strike on Bohodukhiv

An important detail — this is not a “one-time episode.” Two days before the tragedy, there was a report of another deadly strike on Bohodukhiv, when a woman and a 10-year-old child died. Then, too, it was about an attack on the private sector, a fire, and debris clearing.

Against this backdrop, the city and region live in a state of constant anxiety: nighttime drone attacks have become part of everyday life, and threat warnings are the very sound people hear over and over again.

An additional background is energy. On the eve, the region reported a difficult situation in the energy sector due to shelling. And this adds another level of vulnerability: when they hit power grids, heat, substations, civilian infrastructure becomes weaker, and rescue operations become harder.

Where Bohodukhiv is located and why it is at risk

Bohodukhiv is located about 60 kilometers northwest of Kharkiv. It is a city through which important highways and railway routes pass. Before the full-scale war, about 15 thousand people lived there.

Geography here is not “information for the sake of information.” It explains why such cities are constantly under attack: proximity to the regional border, transport corridors, the overall density of infrastructure that can be attacked from a distance.