Kyiv Residents Defiant After Overnight Russian Barrage
A Russian overnight strike on Kyiv damages a nine-story block, killing four and injuring nine, as residents vow to rebuild.
A powerful overnight Russian missile barrage on Kyiv has left residents in shock and mourning, but also defiant. The attack, which struck multiple districts of the Ukrainian capital, caused significant damage to a nine-story residential building in the Svyatoshynskyi district, where the eighth and ninth floors were partially destroyed.
Emergency crews worked through the night to contain fires that broke out on the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors of the building. According to Pavlo Petrov, a sportsman with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, rescuers were called to around fifteen locations across three districts: Svyatoshynskyi, Solomyanskyi, and Darnytskyi.
"Nine people were saved and handed over to doctors," Petrov said. "Unfortunately, two people died in this residential building, and the bodies of two more people were found nearby. One woman died at a recycling centre, and another in a neighbouring house."
Residents described terrifying moments as the strike hit. Larysa Bondaruk, 60, recounted the chaos: "A rocket hit the roof. It was incredibly loud - immediately, debris and doors were blown out. There were columns of smoke, columns of fire, screams, crying and despair."
Despite the destruction, Bondaruk expressed gratitude for the rapid response of rescuers and a fierce determination to persevere. "They will never get what they want. We are strong people. We will stand. They will not break us. We will rebuild our country," she said.
Olha Strilkovska, 70, described the struggle to evacuate with her 85-year-old husband, who was reluctant to leave. "The attack was very strong - dust everywhere, everything was flying. The bed was covered in plaster, the front door had fallen into the corridor," she said, adding that a fire had broken out in a neighbouring section of the building.
The attack has deepened the weariness of a population that has endured war since 2022. "We are all sick of war," Bondaruk said. "Children want to have a childhood, but Russia does not allow us to do this."