Russian ballistic missile strike kills three, injures many in Kyiv apartment block

A Russian ballistic missile struck a tall residential block in Kyiv, killing three of Olga Chelesheva's neighbours and injuring at least 19 residents. Chelesheva believes the missile was aimed at nearby power stations but detonated prematurely, causing extensive glass damage throughout her flat, where she, her mother, her grandmother and her five-year-old daughter Liza lived. The family survived thanks to a curtain of makeshift “ballistic curtains” that caught many shards, though glass still pierced walls and a map on the wall.

An emergency alert gave Chelesheva only seconds to react, prompting her to pull her daughter to safety and later shelter in a kindergarten basement. Her husband has been mobilised into the National Guard to guard the border, while she remains in Kyiv, refusing to leave the city.