Enemy destroys another shopping center Epicenter in Kherson
On the night of Thursday, the Epicenter shopping center at 37, Neftianikov Street in Kherson was destroyed due to another terrorist attack, resulting in no casualties or injuries.
According to the retailer's press service, the site had been non-operational since May of last year, when it was severely damaged by artillery shelling, which led to the death of three company employees. Last night's shelling caused a large-scale fire, but no casualties or injuries were reported.
After the initial hits, the fire suppression system in the shopping center activated, but it was insufficient due to the high intensity of the shelling. The State Emergency Service employees fighting the fire were forced to halt their efforts due to the risk of repeated attacks. As a result, the shopping center, with a total area of 16,600 square meters, burned down.
This is the second Epicenter shopping center in Kherson to be destroyed by enemy forces. In early February 2023, the Epicenter with an area of 20,500 square meters on Beryslav Highway, 17, was completely burned down due to heavy artillery shelling. Thus, the Russian army is attempting to destroy critical infrastructure essential for the city's survival and facilities providing necessary goods to the population.
Since February 2022, seven Epicenter shopping centers in Mariupol, Chernihiv, Bucha, Nikopol, Kharkiv, and two in Kherson, with a total area of more than 125,600 square meters, have been completely destroyed. Due to damage and proximity to combat zones, two shopping centers in Kramatorsk and Kharkiv are temporarily not operational. The total area of these facilities is 46,500 square meters. Another company retail facility in Melitopol (with an area of 5,430 square meters) is under occupation. Thus, as a result of the large-scale military aggression, Epicenter has already lost 10 facilities that have been completely destroyed, occupied, or damaged, with a total area of over 177,500 square meters.
The Epicenter group of companies is an omnichannel ecosystem that includes the retail chains "Epicenter" and Nova Linia, the online store epicentrk.ua, the agricultural holding Epicenter-Agro, ceramic tile production plants under the Epicenter Ceramic Corporation, the wood-processing enterprise CBM Osmoloda, and logistics capabilities.
Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the Epicenter network included more than 80 shopping centers across all regions of the country. As of June 6, the retail network of the group includes 71 retail facilities under the brands Epicenter and Nova Linia.
According to the Unified Public Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the participants of Epicenter K LLC are Oleksandr Herega (51.3%), Halyna Herega (47.97%), and Tetyana Surzhyk (0.73%).