During Russia’s massive overnight attack on Kyiv on July 31, Veronika fell from the ninth floor and miraculously survived. But her parents were killed by the Russian missile. She is now an orphan.
She sustained a broken leg and a knocked-out tooth, but it could have been much worse, given the height of the fall. Veronika is currently in the hospital.
Her story was reported by Suspilne and the BBC.
According to Veronika, she had felt anxious that day. She was returning home late in the evening when the drone attack began.
“I heard those Shaheds flying. I was hiding under trees while walking home,” Veronika recalled.
She said that during air raid alerts, she usually doesn’t go to a shelter. She doesn’t remember how she fell from the ninth floor.
“I don’t know how. I was just asleep and woke up already on the rubble down below. Most likely, I somehow slid out. I have no idea how it even happened. It felt like levitation,” Veronika told journalists.
She suspects she might have been thrown out of the apartment still lying in her bed.
“I didn’t realize what I was doing—I was in shock. I looked at my leg and panicked even more,” she said.
According to the BBC, Veronika’s parents died in the attack, but she is not aware of this yet.
She has been hospitalized with a leg fracture, a traumatic brain injury, and a concussion, said Serhiy Dubrov, director of the hospital where she is being treated.
“Frankly, it’s strange—falling from the ninth floor and sustaining relatively minor injuries. But she is experiencing acute psychological distress due to the trauma. She doesn’t yet know about her parents,” Dubrov said.
Veronika is currently receiving the necessary medical care, and neighbors and volunteers are doing everything they can to support her.
“We’re doing everything possible to help,” a neighbor said, urging others to join in supporting the girl who has lost her family.
To recap: Russia launched a combined strike on Kyiv during the night of July 31. As of the morning of August 1, 31 people were reported killed, including 5 children—the youngest only 2 years old. Another 159 people were injured. The attack caused the highest number of child casualties in Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war.
One of the victims was 6-year-old Matviy, who practiced karate and dreamed of winning tournaments.
A kindergarten teacher, her two sons, and her brother also died in the attack. The boys were 17 and 22 years old.
Additionally, Russia took the lives of neurologist Roman Moskalenko, martial arts practitioner Vitalii Raboshchuk, and his 18-year-old daughter Vlada.
Destruction was reported in four city districts: Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi. Residential buildings, schools, car repair shops, and vehicles were damaged. In Sviatoshynskyi, a residential building entrance was completely destroyed. In Solomianskyi, apartments in multiple buildings were damaged. Hits were also reported in the Respublika residential complex, with neighboring buildings affected.
The attack also damaged Kyiv’s main mosque, the Veteranka women veterans’ movement office, and the Babyn Yar memorial complex.
In total, dozens of locations in the city were affected by missile and drone strikes or falling debris.
Amidst the tragedy, there were also glimmers of hope. Rescuers managed to pull a man out alive from the rubble of a high-rise building after nearly three hours of work.
Relief centers are operating in all affected districts of Kyiv – addresses are available.
Kyiv declared August 1 a Day of Mourning for the victims of the enemy’s massive attack.
By the morning of August 1, rescuers completed debris removal at the nine-story building destroyed in the strike. The death toll rose to 31, including five children. In total, 159 people were injured in the Russian attack on July 31 – 16 of them children.
Tags: kyiv russia - ukriane war russian attack
