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BBC reporter sees pictures of partially destroyed family home during broadcast on Kyiv bombing

Olga Malchevska visibly moved as she talks watches footage of building

Matt Mathers
Friday 25 February 2022 17:06 GMT
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Moment BBC reporter sees pictures of her family home, partially destroyed overnight in Kyiv

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A Ukrainian BBC journalist was visibly moved as she saw pictures of her partially destroyed family home in Kyiv during a live broadcast after it was bombed by Russian forces.

In a BBC News bulletin on Friday, Olga Malchevska reported on the latest developments in the war, with her colleague Karin Giannione, a BBC World presenter, as fighting broke out near to the city centre.

"I've just got a message from my mum," she said as she was shown footage of the apartment complex. "She's been taking shelter, she's hiding in the basement. Luckily she wasn't in our building."

""I just can't believe it in my head," she added. "What I'm seeing is somewhere I used to live."

Writing on Twitter after the segment was broadcast, Ms Giannione said she and her colleague did not know until the the moment the footage was shown that the Ms Malchevska had a direct link to the building.

"Thankfully Olga’s family is safe," she added.

Day two of the conflict started with Russian missiles pounding Kyiv in early morning raids as Moscow troops pressed their advance.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough.

Air raid sirens wailed over the city of 3 million people, where some were sheltering in underground metro stations, a day after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president launched an invasion that has rocked the world.

A Ukrainian official said a Russian plane had been shot down and crashed into a building.

Olga Malchevska reacts to the news that her family home has been partially destroyed
Olga Malchevska reacts to the news that her family home has been partially destroyed (BBC)

Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko had called on the city's three million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents.

On Friday morning, Mr Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multi-storey apartment building, starting a fire. He also vowed to take up arms against the Russians.

"Just as yesterday, the military and civilians are equally under Russian attack," Mr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian military on Friday morning reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 40 miles north-west of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed.

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