Residents of Dnipro say that the place where a rocket hit a week ago was a so-called sleeping area, where there are not only military facilities, but even no government institutions in the vicinity of several kilometers. And this is another horrific war crime committed by Russia.
Rocket hit the building, where 1700 people lived. It happened on a day when many were preparing for a celebration.
“The old New Year. People were at home, it happened right around that time,” says Artyom Podgorny, a volunteer from Dnipro.
Artyom is the owner of a local cafe and head of a charity foundation. He was one of the volunteers who first arrived at the scene to help.
“We actually saw the moment of the rocket landing. At that moment, we immediately closed the cafe and drove to the scene of the tragedy.”
Another volunteer, Olga Konstantinova, says that the rescue services worked very promptly.
“Within a few minutes, rescuers, firefighters were there. There was a fire. There were police, medics and ordinary people who immediately started helping the utilities to clear the debris to look for people.”
“People’s screams could be heard from all sides. In addition, some screamed from under the rubble, while others screamed from their apartments because they were afraid to go outside, lest they be buried by a new landslide,” says Artyoms.
At that time, it was already clear that 72 apartments, where around 200 residents were registered, had been destroyed.
“Definitely terrorism. It is inhumane! Victory must be won on the battlefield, not against civilians,” emphasizes Artyom Muzichenko, a resident of Dnipro.
“These are not people. These are not people. We all speak Russian and Ukrainian here. But we had never seen such inhumanity,” concludes Viktor Shvets, whose son Maksim was killed in the attack.
Olga says that her task was to supply the rescuers with basic things that they lacked.
“There, under the ruins, the burning continued and there were not enough protective equipment. There were no respirators, gloves, masks, protective glasses. There were a lot of people. They had also come from other cities.”
“Those working there did everything they could. Very carefully. All the debris was picked up basically by hand because there was a very high probability that there were people alive. And there they were!”
12-year-old Rostislav managed to be pulled out of the ruins by his sports coach Yuriy Vasetski.
“I climbed to the third floor. I fought to get into the apartment, and there I found Rostislav. It seems that all the emotions that a person can have were…” Yurii remembers the happy moment.
An apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro destroyed by a Russian missile strike Photo: REUTERS, Clodagh Kilcoyne
“We are now already helping those who are in the hospital, who have become homeless and do not know what to do next. Some have not yet recovered from the psychological shock and have not applied anywhere with an application for compensation for the damage caused. Therefore, they cannot receive any payments. With we are working with these people now. We explain how to act and help,” says volunteer Artjoms.
“It seems to me that Ukrainians are very difficult to break. You know, it is said that we can quarrel with each other and with our neighbors. But if an accident happens somewhere, then everyone always gets together and forgets all disputes or misunderstandings.
What has happened is a huge tragedy. And the mood is that people are becoming even more united, with even greater readiness to face the aggressor,” emphasizes Olga.
After the incident, the residents of Dnipro reminded the world how much Ukraine needs stronger air defense that could prevent similar tragedies.
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