Journalist Tetyana Kolomychenko was wounded during the Russian missile attack on “Critically Protected”, a military technology expo that took place at a shooting range near Kyiv on 24 July 2026. She sustained a serious leg injury, Kolomychenko told to Institute of Mass Information (IMI) journalist Valentyna Troyan.
“I report on economics, including defence tech, which has become a major sector of the economy. At ‘Critically Protected’, manufacturers were meant to present integrated solutions for protecting businesses and critical infrastructure facilities,” says Tetyana Kolomychenko.
The venue had two zones: the exhibition area featuring more than 20 manufacturers’ tents, and the demonstration area where the manufacturers were to showcase the full air threat response cycle from the moment a target is detected through to it being intercepted or destroyed.
“At 11:20 I was walking towards the coffee break tent. I didn’t hear any air raid siren. I was knocked off my feet in the middle of the encampment. My first thought was that the weapons demonstration had started, but that something had gone wrong. My thigh was burning, my knee was twisted. When I touched my thigh, I felt something jelly-like. That’s when I realised it had been a strike. I knew there’d be a second one,” Tetyana Kolomychenko recounts.
A veteran known by the call sign Dolphin administered first aid to Tetyana before the medics arrived, applying a tourniquet and packing the wound. There were no ambulances on standby: it was the servicemen and veterans present at the scene who were helping the wounded. After that, they pushed aside the wrecked vehicles and began the evacuation.
“My friend Dolphin saved my life. He gave me first aid and evacuated me to the nearest hospital. I believe that during a full-scale war, every civilian should take a tactical medicine course and learn how to apply a tourniquet.
“All state-owned and private companies should be legally required to run tactical medicine courses for their staff — and that includes Ukrainian media organisations too,” says Kolomychenko.
As reported earlier, Channel 5 war correspondent Olha Kalynovska suffered a concussion after being targeted by a Russian optical fiber FPV drone on 3 June. The car in which she was traveling along with servicemen of the airborne assault brigade No. 148, including the press officer, was attacked. The servicemen were also injured.
