“This was my apartment”: Odesa residents shocked by destruction and losses after Russian attack
The latest assault by Russian forces on Odesa has killed one woman and injured ten civilians, and caused significant destruction to homes, a heating pipeline, and local institutions, plunging over 40,000 residents into cold as winter approaches.
Victims of a Russian drone assault on 14 November in Odesa told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that they still cannot recover from the attack even a day later.
A massive attack by Russian occupiers that occurred on the night of 15 November killed a woman and injured ten people in the city, including a child. Nine multi-story residential buildings were damaged, hundreds of apartments were left without windows, and roofs collapsed. This is one of many attacks that Russia has launched against Ukraine with missiles and drones.
“I can’t talk, it’s very hard to speak. The third floor started to burn, it was close to me,” said an elderly woman.
According to her, she barely managed to run outside of her house.
Another resident recounted hearing a distant rumble at first, followed by an explosion. Her husband and son, covered in dust, ran into the hallway, and the family managed to escape. With tears in her eyes, she shared that she tried to find her cats, but one animal apparently did not survive.
A third family was unharmed because they were in another location and returned when they learned their home was on fire.
“We were very worried about our neighbors on the third floor,” said a young woman.
Only a pile of rubble and damaged belongings remain in these people’s homes.
A house where a 35-year-old woman was killed is a five-story building that was significantly damaged in another part of the city. Glass, wall debris, furniture, toys, books, and clothes were scattered across her apartment.
In addition, as a result of the attack, the apartment of Hanna Shelest, director of security programs at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council and a candidate for political sciences, was damaged.
“This was my apartment… Tell me about concessions to Russia,” she wrote on social media, sharing photos and videos which documented the destruction.
Later, Shelest clarified that rescuers managed to stop the fire right at her door, but it was completely destroyed. Her family members were unharmed.
Fires broke out in Odesa following the assault. A major heating pipeline was damaged, which left 220 multi-apartment residential buildings without heating for 40 thousand residents, along with seven kindergartens, four schools, and a maternity hospital.
Nine multi-story buildings, educational institutions, service station premises, a church, commercial properties, the main heating pipeline, private garages, and more than 40 vehicles were damaged. The Russians also targeted Odesa’s port infrastructure.
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