In the wake of Russian missile attacks that claimed at least 19 lives across Ukraine on October 10, residents of Kyiv clean up the debris and brace themselves for more strikes.
Defiant Kyiv Cleans Up After Russia's 'Massive' Missile Strikes
- By Serhiy Nuzhnenko and
- RFE/RL
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Kyiv residents survey a building that was damaged by a deadly Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital on October 10. Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted of a "massive strike" across Ukraine in retaliation for what he called a "terrorist" attack on the bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, territory Moscow illegally seized from Ukraine in 2014.
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Workers in Kyiv quickly repaired a damaged intersection that was the scene of the missile strike that killed and injured civilians. The October 10 attack came two days after an explosion sent a section of the Crimean Bridge tumbling into the Kerch Strait and damaged a section of the rail line.
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The damage to the Crimean Bridge was seen as a humiliating blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In retaliation, Putin unleashed a barrage of rockets and missiles across Ukraine on October 10 killing at least 19 people and damaging cities from Lviv in the west to Kyiv in central Ukraine and Kharkiv in the east.
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After months of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital, the October 10 attacks on Kyiv marked a significant escalation. In a statement, G7 leaders said they would hold Putin to account. "We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms," they said, "and recall that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime."
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A young boy inspects a crater near a playground in Taras Shevchenko Park in Kyiv. People later left flowers in the crater in tribute to those killed during the attack.
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A Ukrainian child returns to the playground in Taras Shevchenko Park a day after the deadly attack.
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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than 45 residential buildings were struck in the nation's capital and that "critical infrastructure" had also been hit.
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Residential buildings (pictured), as well as several of Kyiv's historic and cultural institutions, such as the National Philharmonic, the Khanenko Museum, and the Taras Shevcheno Museum, were damaged during the missile attack.
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A flyer asks for help in finding a cat who disappeared during the missile attack. "Emma" was later found.
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Workers remove the debris of a Russian missile that failed to destroy Kyiv's Glass Bridge.
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A video of the attack near the bridge has since gone viral on social media, becoming a symbol of Ukraine's strength and stability.
