Kiev, Ukraine – Emergency responders recovered more bodies on Wednesday from the wreckage of a nine-story apartment building in Kiev that was hit by Russian missiles, bringing the death toll from this latest assault to 28.
The apartment building, located in the Solomiansky district, was severely damaged during what authorities identified as the deadliest Russian attack on Kiev this year. Of those killed, 23 were in the building, while the remaining five lost their lives in other parts of the city.
Workers utilized cranes, excavators, and even searched with dogs to sift through the debris for victims. The blast shattered windows and doors of surrounding buildings, causing substantial damage.
This recent wave of attacks, occurring from Monday to Tuesday, reflected a concerted effort by Russia to penetrate Ukraine’s air defenses, launching over 440 drones and 32 missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as one of the largest artillery assaults witnessed in the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, Russia intensified its strikes across approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of frontline, shifting focus to urban residential areas with long-range attacks.
Simultaneously, U.S.-led attempts to facilitate peace have stalled, and rising tensions in the Middle East, coupled with U.S. trade tariffs, have drawn global attention away from Ukraine’s urgent calls for increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia.
The U.S. embassy in Kiev remarked that the attacks contradicted former President Trump’s efforts to reach a settlement to end the violence. They stated, “This senseless attack goes against President Trump’s call to stop the killing and end the war,” through a post on social media.
In response, Kiev officials declared an official day of mourning. Mourners gathered at a playground across from the collapsed building, expressing their grief. On Tuesday, a father spent hours waiting for news on his 31-year-old son buried beneath the rubble.
Valentin Hrynkov, a 64-year-old handyman who lived on the seventh floor of an adjoining building that remained intact, recounted how he and his wife awoke to the sound of the explosion, feeling the vibrations through their structure.
His wife, unfortunately, sustained injuries from glass shards during the chaos. They were trapped in their apartment for about 30 minutes before being rescued, a harrowing experience that left him with a profound feeling of “helplessness and primitive fear.”
As dawn broke on Tuesday, many residents sought refuge from the persistent drone attacks, which echoed every few minutes nearby the demolished building. The ongoing danger forced firefighters and rescuers to pause their operations.
Outside the site, friends and families of those who lived in the now-collapsed building gathered in distress, many calling out names, hoping against hope that loved ones might still be found among the debris.
