Missile strike on the Korabelnyi district, a record +40.1°C and Kharlan's gold: what made August 3 memorable
Mykolaiv between historical records and Russian shelling: events on August 3
3 August left a noticeable mark on the history of the Korabelny District, Mykolaiv, Ukraine and the world. For residents of the district this date is primarily associated with a destructive Russian attack, a shelter that was closed during the explosions, and a temperature record that stood for almost 26 years.
At the same time, more than a century ago on this very day Ukrainian authorities made an important decision regarding the Mykolaiv shipbuilding enterprise. It was not simply an unrealized intention: the plant was indeed transformed into an independent state enterprise, although due to military-political events it remained under Ukrainian management for only a short time.
3 August 2025: Korabelny was recovering after a missile strike
The most painful recent event associated with this date was the Russian missile strike on the residential buildings of the Korabelny District of Mykolaiv. The explosion occurred late in the evening on 2 August 2025 at 22:01, and by the morning of 3 August the extent of the destruction had become clear.
As reported by “Korabeliv.Info”, the Russian missile completely destroyed 3 private houses. Another 23 private houses and 12 apartment buildings, 6 cars, a post office and a building materials store were also damaged.
As a result of the attack 7 people were injured. Two men aged 57 and 74 were hospitalized in moderate condition.
3 August 1998: Mykolaiv recorded a historic +40.1°C
On this day in Mykolaiv a temperature of +40.1°C was recorded. At the time this was the absolute maximum for the entire period of meteorological observations in the city.
The record stood for almost 26 years. It was first exceeded on 10 July 2024, when +40.5°C was recorded in Mykolaiv. The same temperature was registered on 15 July.
Then on 16 July 2024 the absolute maximum for the city and region rose to +41.6°C. Thus, the figure set on 3 August 1998 remained unsurpassed for more than a quarter of a century.
3 August 1918: it was decided to make the Mykolaiv plant an enterprise of the Ukrainian State
This event took place during the Ukrainian State of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi, which existed from 29 April to 14 December 1918.
On 3 August 1918 the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian State approved the maritime minister’s bill to transform the former Mykolaiv branch of the Baltic Shipbuilding and Mechanical Plant into an independent state-owned factory of the Ukrainian State.
However, prolonged stable operation under Ukrainian management did not take place. In December 1918 the Hetmanate fell, power in the city changed again, and already in 1919 the enterprise came under the control of Soviet authorities.
3 August 2022: Russia attacked Mykolaiv three times
On the night of 3 August 2022 Russian occupiers attacked Mykolaiv three times: they used Smerch multiple rocket launchers twice, and before dawn – S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.
Fires broke out in a garage cooperative and near a grain elevator. A pier, an industrial enterprise, residential buildings, a dormitory, a restaurant, a pharmacy, shops, the road surface and an equestrian sports school were damaged.
The summary of the attacks on 2–3 August also mentioned damage in the Korabelny District, where the blast wave shattered windows at a school and a family clinic.
3 August 2024: a Mykolaiv sabre fencer brought Olympic gold to Ukraine
On that day native of Mykolaiv Olha Kharlan, as part of the Ukrainian women’s sabre fencing team, won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In the final the Ukrainians defeated the team of South Korea with a score of 45:42. Along with Olha Kharlan, the team included Alina Komashchuk, Olena Kravatska and Yuliya Bakastova.
This award became Ukraine’s first gold at the 2024 Olympic Games.
What happened on 3 August in Ukraine
On 3 August 1990 the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Law “On the Economic Independence of the Ukrainian SSR”.
The document defined Ukraine’s autonomy in matters of managing the economy, enterprises, natural resources, and the financial and banking systems. The law became one of the important steps on the way to the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence on 24 August 1991.
On 3 August 1987 in Kyiv the prominent Ukrainian actor, director and screenwriter Ivan Mykolaichuk died.
He became one of the main creators of Ukrainian poetic cinema, acted in the films “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, “The Dream”, “The Lost Letter”, and directed the film “Babylon XX”. The Soviet system long restricted his creative activity because of his pronounced Ukrainian national stance.
What happened on 3 August in the world
On 3 August 1492 the expedition of Christopher Columbus set sail from the Spanish port of Palos across the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition included the ships “Santa María”, “Pinta” and “Niña”.
On 3 August 1914 the German Empire declared war on France. This was one of the key stages in the unfolding of World War I.
On 3 August 1958 the American nuclear submarine USS Nautilus became the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole. The submarine travelled under the polar ice.
A date that Korabelny remembers because of the war
Events from different years show how ambivalent 3 August has become for Mykolaiv. On this day Ukrainian authorities formalized control over the shipbuilding plant, a Mykolaiv athlete climbed to the highest step of the Olympic podium, and meteorologists recorded historic heat.
However, for residents of the Korabelny District the most painful memory remains the night of 3 August 2025: destroyed houses, injured people.
Previously we wrote:
- Missile destroyed three houses in the Korabelny District: miraculously no fatalities
- Police opened a case into the denial of shelter to teenagers during the missile attack in Korabelny
- “We were lucky the bedroom was behind the wall”: eyewitness accounts in Korabelny
- “Children waited for the explosion on the street”: the closed shelter in Korabelny almost cost lives
- Seven injured and destroyed houses: results of the missile attack in Korabelny
