Alexander Shishkin, an intensive care doctor who was on the beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka when a drone attack took place on Aug. 3, has described how he helped treat the wounded. Eleven days after the attack, he was awarded a medal for helping to save the victims.
Shishkin, an anaesthesiologist and intensive care specialist working in Russia's Rostov region, was on holiday in Arkhipo-Osipovka and was on the beach when the attack occurred.
"It's a day I would rather not remember. I was on the beach at the time. The drone fell directly onto people who were there. When the explosion happened, I tried to pull myself together and ran towards them. The priority was to prepare the injured for transportation to hospital," Shishkin said.
According to the doctor, a rescue worker from Rostov named Artur and a military doctor who happened to be nearby also helped treat the wounded. They dressed wounds and applied tourniquets in an attempt to stop the bleeding before ambulances arrived.
A young girl on the beach suffered particularly severe injuries.
"We tried to resuscitate an injured child, a girl of about four. Later I learned that, unfortunately, she had not survived. Her injuries were simply too severe," Shishkin said.
Once the ambulances arrived, the injured were taken to hospitals. Shishkin said the emergency medical teams "got to work quickly and professionally".
On Aug. 14, Rostov region Governor Yury Slyusar awarded Shishkin the Alexei Berest Medal for helping those injured in the attack.
According to the latest confirmed figures, seven people, including four children, were killed in the attack on the beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka. Another 58 people were injured, including 12 children. Twenty-one of those injured were taken to hospital.
As of Aug. 15, there had been no further reports of deaths, deterioration in the condition of those receiving treatment in hospital or additional damage.
The attack took place on Aug. 3 on a beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka, part of the resort city of Gelendzhik. Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone had fallen on the beach. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the UN has verified the deaths of 803 children and injuries to a further 2,960. Children have been among the victims of Russian missile and drone attacks, air strikes, artillery fire and missile bombardments. In the first half of 2026, long-range Russian strikes involving missiles and drones were among the main drivers of the increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine.
In Russia, according to Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, 85 children were killed and 503 injured between the start of the full-scale war and the end of 2025. Russia's children's ombudsman says they were victims of Ukrainian attacks.
