Two police officers lost their lives while neutralizing an unexploded drone in the Kherson region.

On Tuesday, January 14, during demining operations in one of the villages of the Bilozerka territorial community in the Kherson region, two police officers from Zaporizhzhia lost their lives. This was reported by the press service of the National Police.

On Thursday, January 2, officers from the explosive ordnance disposal unit of the National Police in the Zaporizhzhia region – 30-year-old Senior Lieutenant Oleksii Safronov and 36-year-old Lieutenant Illya Derhiliov – arrived in the Kherson region for demining liberated areas. On Tuesday, January 14, the police were neutralizing the warhead of an unexploded drone when it detonated. The law enforcement officers sustained fatal injuries.

The National Police noted that both officers were professionally fulfilling their duties and had responded to calls regarding explosive discoveries multiple times.

“They worked in areas of enemy shelling, retrieving and neutralizing suspicious objects and ammunition in frontline settlements,” the National Police reported.

Specifically, Oleksii Safronov participated in demining operations in Kharkiv and Kherson regions. The explosive technician neutralized approximately 900 munitions, most of which were particularly dangerous. For Illya Derhiliov, this was his first deployment to the liberated part of Kherson.

“The Zaporizhzhia police collective expresses its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the fallen. Eternal memory! Forever in the ranks!”, the National Police's statement reads.