Posted on 04/29/2022 9:47:38 AM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Vira Hyrych was killed when her apartment was struck by a Russian missile in Kyiv. Radio Freedom photo
The body of Ukrainian journalist Vira Hyrych was pulled out of the wreckage of an apartment building in Kyiv on Friday, a day after two Russian missiles struck the city.
Wary Kyiv residents gathered on April 29 at the scene of the missile strike in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where the first two floors of a newly opened 25-storey apartment building were largely destroyed.
Read more: One month after liberation, Bucha’s morgue is the city’s new nucleus
Two powerful explosions rocked central Kyiv at about 8 p.m. local time on Thursday, shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the city.
Zelenskyy said five missiles had been launched at Kyiv and three were intercepted.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were taken to hospital on Thursday night and rescuers had pulled a body out of the rubble on Friday morning.
Klitschko said there were few residents in the building at the time as it had only just opened.
Hyrych’s employer, Radio Freedom, confirmed her death on Friday in a statement. They said she had worked for the company for four years as a producer and she worked on “leading Ukrainian TV channels” prior to that.
“The editorial board of Radio Svoboda expresses its condolences to the family of Vira Hyrych and will remember her as a bright and kind person, a true professional,” the statement said.
The attack came shortly after Zelenskyy and Guterres held a press conference in which Guterres condemned the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in towns such as Bucha, which he toured during the day.
Damage from a powerful blast in Kyiv on Thursday evening as seen on April 29. Ashleigh Stewart/Global News
During his visit, Guterres urged Russia “to accept to cooperate” with ongoing investigations into war crimes by the International Criminal Court (IRCC).
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was also in Kyiv for a meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said the city was struck with Russian cruise missiles and called it a “heinous act of barbarism.” 'We heard two rockets whistling over our heads'
On Friday morning, residents of the Shevchenkivskyi district arrived at the apartment building to assess the damage.
Emergency services were picking through the wreckage and removing rubble. The windows of buildings in the immediate vicinity were blown out, as well as some buildings hundreds of metres down the street.
Some residents watched on in horror, while others wept.
For many, Kyiv had been something of a safe haven when Russian troops retreated from the area on March 31 after largely being stalled in their advance on the capital in the surrounding districts of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel.
Until now, Kyiv had also largely escaped the shelling that has been inflicted on the rest of Ukraine.
“I’m just shaking,” Lyudmula Dekalo said through tears, as she stared up at the destroyed apartment building, located just around the corner from where she lives.
Lyudmula Dekalo said she refused to leave her hometown and would collect Molotov cocktails to defend her city. Global News
Dekalo said her apartment, where she lives alone, shook when the missiles made landfall. She said she reacted by trying to hold up her walls with her hands.
She said she did not sleep at all because she was worried about the fate of the people inside the building that was hit.
Read more: Large explosions rock Kyiv after UN chief meets with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
Dekalo said she left Kyiv in the early weeks of the war, first to Irpin and then to a town near Lviv when fighting in Irpin intensified, and only returned after the Russians retreated.
“We knew of course about the air sirens but there are air sirens all around Ukraine. It doesn’t matter where we are, it’s horrible and scary for people’s lives,” she said.
However, she will not leave again.
“I will collect Molotov cocktails, just in case. And we will remove these bandits from our country and we will remember everyone,” she said.
Olena was in her apartment in the building next door, on the ninth floor, with her husband when the missile strikes took place. She said she heard a huge explosion and saw a lot of dust, and one of her windows blew out.
She said there were no air raid sirens at the time of the attack, so she did not understand what was happening. Olena added she believes she was “lucky” to escape unharmed.
Pavlo Kosetskiy was with his daughter in their kitchen in the building next-door when the explosions took place.
“I first saw the flash and then heard the sound. The windows in our kitchen were destroyed,” he said.
“My daughter started screaming and my two other daughters ran out of the other room. They started shouting. We hid in the corridor. After that, we heard another explosion when we were already hidden in the corridor.”
Kosetskiy had returned to Kyiv just a few days ago after earlier evacuating, because he thought “the situation is calm.”
He said his two oldest daughters understood what was happening in the war, but his youngest daughter “just thinks it’s thunder.”
“We are very angry that our country is under attack from Russia and I agree to fight against this country for the sake of my daughters,” he said.
Tatiana Mazur said she heard ‘two rockets whistling over our heads’ while she was out walking her dog. Ashleigh Stewart/Global News
Tatiana Mazur was out walking her dog with her husband nearby when she heard the incoming missiles.
“We heard two rockets whistling over our heads, then we heard a lot of noise and saw a big cloud, like a fire,” she said.
Mazur, a doctor, said she stayed in Kyiv during the war because she and her husband are doctors and “want to help.” She said she did not want to become a refugee and wanted to put her skills to use here.
She said she feels safe “from time to time,” but it is not safe anywhere in Ukraine and she understands the risk of staying.
“We get used to it but still it’s very scary when it’s coming near our house, near you,” she said.
However, she had been buoyed by the resilience of her people.
“[Ukrainians] believe in themselves, it’s very important. If we stop supporting each other we will stop being Ukrainians.”
The building was NEXT TO A MILITARY FACILITY.
Thanks!
Looks like a nice lady.
RIP
Wonder if she’ll show back up in a week or so, getting an interview or something.
Kiev, Ukraine Info.
Human shield?
“The building was NEXT TO A MILITARY FACILITY.”
Naturally this will make it all good for you if/when the Ukies start hitting apartment buildings in Moscow.
VIDEOS AT LINK
Thank you for the ping! (-:
.
The "it was next to a military target!" is just unconfirmed knee jerk Russian BS with no evidence whatsoever. Currently, the US and other entities are trying to determine whether the "near a military target" thing can possibly hold up. It doesn't look like it will, which is normal.
WORLD HISTORIC SITE
The Shevchenkivskyi District (Ukrainian: Шевченківський район) is an urban district of the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was originally established on 4 April 1937, although in 2001 its area was increased following an annexation of the former Radianskyi and StaroKievskyi districts.
The district is historically significant, as it was here on the OLD KIEV MOUNT where the apostle SAINT ANDREW erected the cross.
Also the famous Golden Gate of Kiev, the main entrance to the medieval city of Kiev is located in the district, as are the three major churches of the city: Saint Sophia, Saint Michael and Saint Andrew.
Furthermore, in this district the first parliament of Ukraine met at the Ukrainian Club Building and declared Independence in 1917.
+1
In general, it’s been well documented that the ukranian military /Azov use residential bldgs to lodge attacks from.
The Russian apologists, on this site, are disgusting.
“Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center think tank, said Thursday’s strike on Kyiv while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting the city indicated Moscow’s intention to press its attack.
‘Russia is sending a clear signal about its intention to continue the war despite the international pressure,’ Fesenko told The Associated Press.
“With this missile strike, the Kremlin is sending a warning to all international structures and organizations trying to influence or contain Russia’s aggressive military plans,” Fesenko noted.
‘While Russia has so far failed to score any significant gains in Ukraine, it intends to continue its offensive and keep striking cities with missiles.”
https://www.startribune.com/live-updates-analyst-kyiv-strike-shows-no-russian-let-up/600168981/
You think there were Azov in that building? In Kyiv? Shooting at what Russkies?
And what “well documented” instances do you have in mind? The hospitals Russkies systematically blew up in Mariupol? The giant shelter nowhere near any military targets, with no signs of any military vehicles or any military use, which the Russkies claimed was an Azov weapons depot after they blew it up with hundreds of people inside? What about the apartment buildings in Odessa where an entire family, except the Husband, were killed by a cruise missile? Azov documented to be firing from there too, muppet?
For some of the Putinistas even Ukraine blowing up some Russian fuel dumps being used for the invasion is a Bad Thing, unfair and shocking!
Hopefully anyone who has had a good word to say about Putin since this brutal and completely unprovoked will be treated much as the apologists for Hitler or Stalin were subsequent to WW2 and the Rosenbergs.
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