War in Ukraine: more than 50 injured in kyiv by missiles on Wednesday

A green tricycle. A plastic snowman. A blue Christmas garland. In a residential suburb of kyiv, Kournatovska Street, the lives of the residents of building 2B lie on the ground, among debris and pieces of missiles. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, like the rest of the population of kyiv, these residents were awakened by several explosions, even before the siren sounded calling for them to reach shelters, during the largest missile attack in several weeks on the Ukrainian capital.

“An explosion woke me and my father up. The walls were shaking, there was debris everywhere. When I opened the front door, I saw the neighbors’ door open, the blast had moved the fridge into the hallway,” says Iryna Koutcheryava, wrapped in a blanket donated by the Ukrainian Red Cross. In front of his apartment, three cars were blown several meters away and burned in the middle of a children's playground. Opposite, the windows of the kindergarten were broken and the building damaged. In total, nearly 51 people were injured, including six children, in different districts of kyiv, according to the city's military administration. Most were hit by debris or shards of broken glass as a result of the work of the air defense, which shot down the ten missiles launched. Several residential buildings, a nursery, a children's hospital and a morgue were damaged.

This is the second attack on kyiv in the space of a week. Early Monday, eight Russian missiles flying toward the capital were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses at the entrance to the city. These latest attacks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left his country, first for Washington at the start of the week, then on Wednesday in Oslo, in the hope of convincing his allies to support his country's war effort. .

“I would just like to thank the Westerners for their help, I don’t know where we would be without them, without air defense,” assures Iryna, who doesn’t really follow the information. When asked what she thinks about possible negotiations with the Kremlin, she replies: “We could negotiate to end the war, but how? The Russians say one thing and do another, they don't keep their word, they always tell stories, I see it on Russian channels, they talk nonsense about us... but that's the truth, that's what we live,” says this cleaning lady, pointing to the apartment where she has lived for thirty years, completely destroyed.

Tetyana Lohvynenko, 37, emerges from her second-floor apartment, her face peppered with cuts from debris. The young woman was able to collect some things, while her mother remains hospitalized, after being propelled across the apartment due to the blast. “After the first explosion, we hid between two walls because the bombings continued. Then we started to smell smoke, we were both bleeding, without really understanding if we were seriously injured or not,” explains Tetyana, still in shock, “it’s a miracle that no one died ".

The 30-year-old immediately tried to call her loved ones after the strike, but the network was not working. A group of Russian hackers linked to the GRU, the military intelligence service of the Russian army, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the Ukrainian security services which have opened an investigation. This computer hack is the largest that Ukraine has suffered since February 24, 2022, and it affected nearly 24 million telephone subscribers and several banking systems. On Wednesday morning, shortly after the strike that hit the capital, several victims expressed sadness at not being able to call their loved ones.

“Even with all the empathy in the world, you can’t imagine the horror of going through this. Russia has crossed all the red lines. The only option is for the world to unite against this axis of Evil,” protests Tetyana, who recalls that the Ukrainian capital remains well protected compared to other cities in the country. Last night, Moscow also launched a drone attack on Odessa and artillery fire remains daily on the front line. “Every minute that military aid is delayed leads to civilian losses and certainly military losses on the front lines,” whispers the young woman, whose military boyfriend has been injured several times.