REPORT: Restoration work continues at strike sites in Kyiv, broken windows boarded up, most businesses operating
Photo by Yaroslav Shcherbakov
Efforts to clear debris at the sites of strikes by Russia on Kyiv continued throughout the day. By noon, broken windows and storefronts in surrounding buildings were mostly covered with wooden shields, while shops and other businesses in the damaged buildings largely resumed operations.
As reported by an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, several buildings near the city’s main street, Khreshchatyk, were damaged. In all facade buildings on Hrushevskoho Street between European Square and the Historical Museum, as well as in Muzeiny Lane and their wings, windows were shattered. By mid-day, active work was still underway to board up window openings with wooden panels.
Among the affected structures were the Hotel Dnipro, the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine—which houses the Institute of Literature and the Naukova Dumka bookstore—and the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience. Several missing windows were also visible in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine building.
The Historical Museum building suffered the most significant damage. In addition to most windows being shattered, the blast wave blew out the entrance doors and partially damaged the exterior finishing and stucco.
In Podil, historical residential buildings near the intersection of Spaska and Mezhyhirska streets, some of which are architectural monuments, sustained the greatest destruction. The buildings of the National Chornobyl Museum were particularly affected, where debris clearing was still ongoing. Part of the windows in the Kyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre were also blown out.
Construction debris and specialized equipment remain on the roadway of Mezhyhirska Street, where tram tracks are located, halting tram services in the area. Some routes are suspended, while others are running shortened paths. A single car waits at the terminus on Spaska Street for traffic to reopen.
In several buildings with shattered windows, shops and cafes continue to operate with many customers, despite nearby repair work. Nearby, Kontraktova Square remains crowded, showing no signs of the shelling. Tennis and badminton courts are set up, and children and teenagers are rollerblading and playing games.
In contrast, all retail outlets around Lukianivska Square are closed. Rescuers continue to extinguish fires in the remains of market stalls, watched by many residents and visitors filming the scene. Among them are business owners who lost their spots at the market, discussing their losses. The fire at the Kvadrat shopping center has been fully extinguished, and construction workers are active at the site.
In the passage between them and on a section of Illienka Street opposite the Lukianivska metro station exit, fires destroyed sections of the trolleybus contact network. The metro station itself has resumed operation, though most windows in the surface vestibule are shattered.
One block from the square, Russia hit residential buildings—brick 5- and 8-story structures. Several apartments on the upper floors were destroyed. People sit near the buildings with belongings they managed to salvage, while rescue teams work inside. A volunteer headquarters has been set up in a tent near the 8-story building to assist residents. On Dehtiarivska Street, the strike destroyed several trees and the tram contact network. Several wrecked cars are visible around both buildings.
At the site of a drone strike on a 24-story building in the Solomyanskyi district, the situation is calm. The area remains fenced off, but people are walking nearby. One apartment was destroyed, while the neighboring one had all windows blown out and likely suffered structural damage to the ceiling. Two damaged cars and remnants of construction debris are visible in the yard. Surrounding shops and beauty salons are operating as usual.
As previously reported, two people were killed and 78 injured following a massive Russian attack on Kyiv on Sunday night. SES psychologists have already provided assistance to 247 citizens. Strikes were recorded at over 40 locations. Housing was damaged in seven out of the capital’s ten administrative districts.
The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO recorded damage to ten cultural, scientific, and educational institutions in Kyiv following the massive missile and drone strike by Russia on the night of May 24. Specifically, the strikes damaged the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Ukrainian House, the T.H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the NAS of Ukraine and its unique book repositories, the Kyiv Opera, the National Music Academy of Ukraine, the Educational and Scientific Institute of Public Administration and Civil Service of KNU, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the Yaroslav the Wise National Library, and the Mala Opera.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that approximately 40% of the exhibits at the National Chornobyl Museum were irretrievably lost due to the strike.
