After the heavy Russian attacks on Kiev, people are clearing the debris of the shopping center. But life in the Ukrainian capital continues, albeit among the rubble. The city is functioning. And no one thinks of surrendering.
The air smells of burning, and it is especially strong when the wind blows. Until recently, the "Kvadrat” shopping center stood here - now only a concrete skeleton and rubble remain, ARD reports. The German public media meets Anastasia, a 25-year-old translator who lives in the Ukrainian capital. The young woman is trying to catch a frightened cat that is wandering around the ruins of the shopping center, which became the target of a Russian attack two nights ago. Anastasia says she wants to catch the cat and take it to the vet - because it is probably injured by shrapnel. On Sunday night /24.5/ Russia fired 90 missiles at Ukraine.
Hundreds of damaged buildings
Nearly 300 buildings in the Ukrainian capital suffered damage after the airstrikes over the weekend, writes ARD. It was the worst attack since the beginning of the war. "We were standing in the bomb shelter, but even there we could hear the explosions", says Anastasia. She says she doesn't always go to the shelter, but this time there were many warnings about the airstrike, including from the US embassy in Kiev.
Many people in the Ukrainian capital also tell ARD that they have never had a worse night than this one. However, the attack had barely ended when the city began to work on clearing up. In front of the building of the "Kvadrat" shopping center, the debris has already been collected in piles, and people are bypassing them to get to the subway entrance. The city is functioning - even among all the destruction.
"A strong and reasonable person would not do such a thing"
The market on the opposite street has also suffered enormous damage. Ihor Shynkarchuk stands next to the charred stall that used to belong to his mother-in-law. There, she sold kvass, bread and cakes and earned extra money on top of her pension, despite having asthma and heart problems, the man tells ARD.
Despite everything, in front of the burnt stall hangs a sign "We will open again soon" and wishes for health and peace. The woman's phone number has also been left so that people can contact her if they want. One of her regular customers shows up - he says he used to shop there before the war. According to him, Putin only wants to instill fear in people. "Putin is weak, he is not a man. Only a weak man could do something like that. A strong and reasonable man would not do such things. He must stop, finally, just stop", he says.
The man has also met with the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko - with a request that the mayor help clear the debris and get the market back up and running soon. None of these people are going to give up.