Ukraine's Minister explains high number of casualties from Russian strike on building in Kyiv
Photo: Russia struck a residential building in Kyiv (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
As a result of a strike by Russian forces on a residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, the floors literally collapsed. This left most people with no chance of survival, according to a briefing by Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
He said that immediately after the strike, rescuers and police officers were carrying people out of apartments "even on doors."
According to him, the explosion occurred around the 5th or 6th floor. The type of missile will be determined through the investigation. Its engine has already been found — discovered right inside the apartment building.
"The explosion was so powerful that it lifted the upper floors and collapsed the lower ones. There was an explosion, and then everything 'folded in.' That’s why there are so many casualties. People who were in their rooms, or hiding in corridors between two walls, unfortunately, mostly died," the minister emphasized.
The Interior Minister added that 28 people were killed in the strike on the residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, including three children.
Klymenko clarified that the rescue operation could have ended "much earlier," but rescuers halted work for two hours overnight after discovering a child and doing everything possible to recover the body intact.
The last to be found were a woman and two children on the sixth floor — they were pinned under a concrete wall.
The minister also noted that all the victims have now been identified.
Strike on Kyiv
During the night of July 31, Russian forces attacked Kyiv with drones and missiles.
In particular, a missile hit a residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district, destroying one of the building's entrances.
As of now, it is known that 31 people were killed in the Russian attack on the capital, and over 100 were injured.
