'Something switched off in my head': Kyiv teen recounts digging woman from rubble after Russian missile strike
An 18-year-old Kyiv resident named Ivan helped emergency workers dig a trapped woman out of rubble in the city's Darnytskyi district after Russia's mass overnight attack in the early hours of Thursday, as more than 600 rescue workers and police responded across the capital.
When explosions rocked his Kyiv neighborhood, Ivan ran outside with his father to check on friends who live nearby. What he found drew him into one of the night's most harrowing rescues.
"I found my friends — thank God they were intact. And then I saw the terrible rubble, a few volunteers, helping a small group of State Emergency Service workers. And something just switched off in my head. The fear disappeared. I just put on gloves, helped a police officer lower a girl down, and then started helping the rescuers," Ivan told journalists in comments.
He then heard screaming beneath the wreckage. Together with a State Emergency Service worker, Ivan began digging toward the voice — until a concrete slab blocked their path. The two pressed on, pushing through debris from the sides.
"The woman was screaming terribly, begging for help. We started digging her out, and at that moment they began fighting a fire — a huge column of smoke came at us. We dug a small hole, climbed in, and just started scooping out small pieces of debris like dogs. We cleared her right leg, then her left. It was very hard because the smoke made it impossible to breathe properly and it burned our eyes. After we had dug her out almost to the torso, she stopped screaming," Ivan said.
Rescuers told Ivan to keep talking to the woman — to get any response from her, a cry, a word, anything. He did.
"At that moment I just started breaking down. I began to understand where I was, what was happening — that a person was under the rubble, screaming and suffering. I was crying and still digging. Then a police officer put his hand on my shoulder and said: 'Enough. Step back.' Then the State Emergency Service took over," he said.
The woman was ultimately rescued. Her child and husband, however, remain trapped under the rubble.
Rescue operation and casualties
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said it has information on more than 10 people missing in Kyiv following the overnight attack. More than 1,500 rescue workers and police officers have been deployed across Ukraine to respond to the aftermath of Russia's mass strikes, with nearly 600 in Kyiv alone. Six canine search units are assisting in locating people trapped under debris.
As of the latest update, four people were killed and 40 were wounded in Kyiv — including two children.