"Hello, Mom, Masha's body must have been found." A moment in courtyard of Kyiv apratment block where Russia killed 9 people
“Second birthday, damn it,” says a man in his thirties. He catches my attention with his animated talk and a tattoo above his right eyebrow. In his hands, a green blanket. In the back pockets of his jeans, a bottle of rum and Pepsi.
To people watching rescuers search the rubble for a woman and her daughter, the man recounts his survival story. A ceiling slab fell at an angle, shielding him from death.
Limping, he steps a few meters away. He sits on a flowerbed under a tree, its leaves shaken off by the blast, and drinks his rum. He stares at the ruined building where, hours ago, his apartment stood on the fifth floor.
"Hello, Mom, Masha's body must have been found," a blonde woman says on the phone. She watches rescuers unfold a white sheet atop the rubble pile, tears welling in her eyes. Another woman approaches, hugs her, and says, “I’m so sorry.” From their talk, I gather they’re not related to 11-year-old Maria.
For hours, rescuers tried to find Maria and her 41-year-old mother, Svitlana. Maria’s father, Andriy, watched the whole time, hoping they’d survived. But no miracle came—while he was at work, a Russian missile killed his family.
Maria’s classmates, boys, linger in the courtyard. A blond one in glasses tries to hold back tears. Suddenly, a bottle slips from another’s hand, crashing to the ground, and the boys start crying.
News of the ninth body came around 4:05 p.m.—12 hours after the explosion. It was Maria.
Across the street, people kept boarding up shattered windows with plywood. Some hung curtains to shield their exposed homes, laid bare by the blast. At least it’s summer…
A State Emergency Service (SES) worker passed by, carrying pizza boxes for rescuers taking a break while others relieved them. Across Kyiv, about 100 vehicles and over 400 rescuers were deployed to address the June 23 attack’s aftermath.
The building on Honta Street was hit by a ballistic missile with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, the Interior Ministry said. The strike’s force matched one in Solomyanskyi district on June 17. The missile pierced the building to the basement, partially collapsing it.
During the day’s rubble clearance, several collapses of damaged structures occurred. SES spokesperson Svitlana Vodolaha explained most were planned, except one likely caused by wind gusts.
Rescuers use equipment to detect structural movement. If a risk is flagged, work pauses to dismantle or secure the structure.
How long the search and rescue will last is hard to predict. It’s unclear how many people were in the building or remain under debris. Rescuers hope no more bodies are found—no missing persons reports have been filed.