Kyiv under powerful Russian attack: since Thursday morning, Rokada’s teams have been supporting capital residents
On the night of July 2, Kyiv came under one of the largest Russian attacks. Shelters, metro stations, and residential complex parking lots were packed with citizens. People are unable to recover from what they have experienced. However, despite the extremely difficult night, Rokada’s capital teams have been working at the strike sites since early morning, alongside municipal services and partner humanitarian organizations.
Fires and destruction have been recorded in almost all districts of Kyiv. Rokada is providing assistance in four of them: Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Pecherskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi.
Two five-story residential buildings near the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studios have sustained serious damage from shelling for the third time in the past six months. Tonight, a blast wave and debris shattered windows, damaged balconies, and tore through roofs. A fire broke out in one of the buildings.
“All the windows, all the doors, all the furniture… Everything in the apartment is smashed,” says Larisa Runova, distraught resident of the semi-destroyed building.
She says they tried to put out the fire on their own during the night. Now, she admits, she just wants to eat a little and get some rest. Alongside to Larisa is her neighbor, Yulia Romanenko. The blast blew out the windows and doors in both of their apartments.
“In the neighboring entrances, there are no walls left at all, nothing is left,” the woman adds.
The Rokada team has been helping the residents of this building since early morning. Bohdan Sydliarenko, foundation’s emergency shelter kit logistics assistant, noted that this is the third time in the past six months that Rokada teams have swiftly responded to provide support and construction materials to survivors in this area.
“Right now, we have brought a hundred OSB boards and plastic sheeting materials intended to provide emergency protection for the apartments that are more or less intact,” he explains.
As people approach the Rokada specialist for help, he explains the technology and proper use of these protective materials.
“We need to explain where and how it is best to use the plastic sheeting or boards,” Bohdan Sydliarenko explains.
Rokada’s mobile teams are also operating in the capital’s private housing sector. Specialists have already provided emergency materials to over three dozen households.
“Besides providing tarpaulins, OSB boards, plastic sheeting, and other essentials, our social workers and psychologists are working with the people. They are under stress and need not only support but also guidelines on how to act and where to go if their property has been damaged. We continue to work on the ground,” adds Yulia Reeber, coordinator of the regional office.
Dmytro Skvortsov, emergency shelter officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), noted that Rokada provides emergency response not only in the capital but also in the Kyiv region, the frontline Sumy and Chernihiv regions, as well as in the western regions of Volyn, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Lviv, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi.
“Amid regular Russian attacks that shatter people’s homes and lives every day, we find solutions to provide our partners with the necessary humanitarian materials,” he noted. “Whether in summer or winter, we do everything we can to supply people with quick-repair materials so they can protect their homes on the very same day.”
Assistance to the affected residents is provided by the Rokada Charitable Foundation with financial support from UNHCR Ukraine – the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine.
