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Ukrainian Apartment Dweller Works Hard to Cope After Russian Bombing


Firefighters work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024
Firefighters work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024

Inured by nearly two years of war, Olena Ohiievych wasted no time getting to work on Tuesday as she confronted the shambles left in her apartment by the latest Russian air attacks on Kyiv and its suburbs.

It was cold outside and bound to get colder.

"There are no windows left, no balcony. The balcony doors are shattered, the window glass and frame in every room have been torn out," said Ohiievych, 25, who manages social media accounts. "We will install something. We plan to do something about all this."

The overnight missile and drone attack was the second major assault on the capital in five days, killing at least two people and injuring dozens. Officials said the attacks were likely to intensify.

A fire burns after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024.
A fire burns after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024.

Bundled up in a bright pink ski jacket and scarf, with the daytime temperature just above zero degrees Celsius, Ohiievich was determined to stay in her apartment on Kyiv's western outskirts.

A group of friends she enlisted was already measuring the windows.

"My plan is to cover the window with film today. If we don't have time, then we will stay with my parents in the countryside," she said.

"I hope that with united effort, with my friends, we will do it, at least for the first couple days. So, we can stay here when it's freezing. And sleep here."

A view shows a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian missile attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024.
A view shows a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian missile attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 2, 2024.

In the courtyard, residents surveyed shrapnel holes on the facade of the multistory block and loaded up a truck with shattered glass and window frames.

Ohiievich said she considered herself lucky to have emerged unhurt.

"The building began to shake, like this," she said gesturing rapidly. "I thought it was going to collapse on itself, that we were going to be squashed, that the wall behind us would fall and that would be it."

Within seconds, those inside, seated on the floor, were covered in dust and unable to see anything, but were unhurt.

"This wall likely saved our lives," she said, looking around the room. "The only thing that crumbled was the stucco, that's it. There was no shrapnel, thank God. This mirror is not broken. We stayed far away from it."

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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