‘We’ll rebuild again’: Kyiv residents defiant amid destruction and death

Ukraine’s capital is under constant bombardment by Russian forces and with residential areas being increasingly targeted, civilian casualties are on the rise, reports Kim Sengupta in Kyiv

Men clear up rubble after early morning barrages hit the Podil neighbourhood of Kyiv, 18 March 2022 (Ivan Kharinyak)

The front of what had been a pick-up truck had blown off and landed 30 feet away. What was left was a smouldering, twisted pile of metal, and Aleksandr Stelmach was considering how lucky he was to be alive.

“I had parked just 10 minutes earlier and gone into my flat when this happened. I would have perhaps stopped off in a cafe on the way home after finishing my shift and arrived just when the missile hit. But the cafes are all shut now of course because of the war”, said Mr Stelmach, a security guard.

“My car had gone and so had so much else around here: other cars, garages, people’s homes. It was an unbelievable explosion, the noise was incredible, and there was a huge flash of light,” he told The Independent. “Just look at the damage now.”

A damaged apartment block after airstrikes hit the Podil neighbourhood of Kyiv, 18 March 2022 (Ivan Kharinyak)

The wreck of his Skoda lay beside a hole gouged 6ft deep into the ground. To the left were ruins of a five-storey apartment block, the insides of them plain to see with the outer wall sheared away; to the right was a kindergarten.

The attack was one of the latest barrages Kyiv has suffered daily since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February. And residential areas have been hit with increasing frequency, resulting in mounting civilian casualties.

Five apartment blocks suffered substantial damage in an attack in the district of Podil on Friday morning. Waves from the blast shattered windows in homes and shops three streets along. One body has been found so far, say the authorities, while several people were injured. Residents claim the death count is much higher and that some residents suffered such severe injuries that they were unlikely to survive.

“I saw four bodies being taken out with my own eyes,” said Viochoslav Shmerkechuk. “And a lot of people wounded. Every one of these buildings has been affected, so it should not come as a surprise that the casualties would be high.”

Mr Shmerkechuk said his apartment suffered some damage, pointing to broken windows and scorched walls. But the five members of his family were all safe. “That is the most important thing now, to stay alive until this is all over,” he said. “We have lived here for 33 years and intend to continue living here.”

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Mr Stelmach thought the caretaker of the kindergarten, which is closed now, had been killed. “He liked to keep things tidy outside and that’s how he got caught up in it sadly I have heard,” he said.

One of the apartments belonged to an elderly lady, added Mr Stelmach. “We are all afraid she might have been one of the casualties − of course, we hope she is alright. This is a terrible war; Slavic people should not be fighting each other.”

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko, better known as a world heavyweight boxing champion before the war, came to see the site.

Visiting another bombed residential building earlier in the week, he described the claim by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that only military targets were being attacked as “bulls***”.

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko holds people away from a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after a shelling in Podil, 18 March 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

The UK’s chief of defence intelligence, Lieutenant General Jim Hockenhull, said on Friday that “Russia is now pursuing a strategy of attrition. This will involve the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower.” It will “result in increased civilian casualties,” he added.

Those on the receiving end of that firepower are only too aware of the danger. “But we will cope”, said Mr Shmerkechuk. “I am a builder by trade; I helped build some of the homes in this neighbourhood. We will rebuild them again.”

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