Kyiv mourns sisters Vira and Lyubava Yakovleva, killed by Russian missile that hit their apartment building three years after their father died at war
Dozens of classmates and soldiers gathered at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on Tuesday to mourn Vira Yakovleva, 17, and her sister Lyubava, 12, killed when a Russian missile hit a residential high-rise in the city's Darnytskyi district during a massive overnight strike on May 14, hromadske’s correspondent reported.
The girls were the daughters of Yevhen Yakovlev, a Ukrainian soldier known by the call sign "Ryzhyi," who was killed in combat three years ago.
Lyubava was found in the rubble first, while search teams continued looking for Vira beneath the debris. The day after the attack, Lyceum No. 323 — where both girls studied — held an impromptu memorial, with students and staff laying flowers to honor the slain pupils.
The service at St. Michael's Cathedral on May 19 was attended by dozens of the girls' classmates, students from other classes, and the school administration. At the cathedral service, schoolgirls comforted one another, at times stepping outside to compose themselves. Many of the soldiers present were fellow servicemembers who had fought alongside the girls' father.
Many soldiers also turned up — brothers-in-arms of the girls' deceased father.
"Our vile enemies are stealing the flower of our nation — our Love and our Faith," Bishop Yefrem said at the service, using the Ukrainian meanings of the sisters' names. "They kill us only because we are Ukrainian, only because we want to be free. When we see our Love and Faith lying in their coffins, it seems as though the enemy has won. But there is no way they can kill our hearts."
About the attack
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence warned on Wednesday evening that Russia had launched a large-scale combined air attack that could be prolonged.
By that evening, Russian forces had fired 753 strike drones and decoy drones at Ukraine; air defenses shot down 710. Including the overnight assault, more than 892 enemy drones were launched within a 24-hour period.
The overnight attack involved 731 aerial weapons in total — 56 missiles and 675 drones. Most were intercepted, but 15 missiles and 23 strike drones hit 24 locations, while the wreckage of downed drones fell across 18 additional sites.
Kyiv was the primary target of the overnight strike. A missile hit a residential apartment building in the Darnytskyi district, destroying a section from the ninth floor down to the ground.
In total, 24 people were killed in the capital, including three children, and more than 50 were wounded.