Grandfather shielded his grandson: how a Kyiv family survived after Russian missile strike

Tetiana Romanenko, her six-year-old son Yehor and her father Anatolii survived a Russian missile strike on their nine-storey building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district on 17 June 2025.

Source: Tetiana Romanenko, speaking to Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia

Details: "This is my second birthday. And not only mine, but my dad’s, who climbed back into that hell full of fire, as well as my son’s, my friends’, neighbours’ – everyone I saw yesterday. It is a second birthday for all the survivors," Tetiana said.

Tetiana lives on the third floor. The strike shattered all the windows and doors in her apartment, with glass fragments found even in her bed.

"My feet were covered in glass. But the main thing is that we were alive," she shared.

During the attack, Tetiana, Yehor and Anatolii were at home. They initially hid in the corridor, then tried to sleep. Yehor slept beside his grandfather that night.

"There were four or five explosions near us. I was so tired I went to sleep. I sent a friend a voice message saying, ‘I think I can say goodbye to life today.’ She replied, ‘Are you mad, what are you saying?’" Tetiana recalled.

When the missile hit, Tetiana saw a flash and was suddenly surrounded by glass shards. The fragments injured her, her father and Yehor.

"My father covered his grandson with himself and a blanket. But the shards still hit him. Yehor was struck in the head, me too, and my father. They’re minor injuries, but seeing your child covered in blood is devastating," Tetiana said.

After the strike, a fire broke out. Anatolii and other residents rushed to rescue people from the entrance where the fire started.

"Emergency workers didn’t arrive immediately. People scrambled to save themselves. My father went to pull out those who couldn’t escape. Our neighbour on the fourth floor’s door was jammed, so we all had to free him together," Tetyana recounted.

The apartment’s windows and balcony were damaged and the roof of their building section was destroyed, though another part of the building took the main impact.

"I took Yehor to kindergarten because our home is full of glass. There’ll be no gas for another month, and I had nothing to feed him with," Tetiana said.

Despite the trauma, Tetiana and her neighbours joined forces to board up windows, clear rubble and remove glass. Search operations at the site continue.

Among those killed was 31-year-old Dmytro, whose body was recovered on the evening of 17 June. Tetiana didn’t know him personally but recognised him as a local who studied at a nearby school.

Tetiana expressed gratitude to her ex-husband and friends who helped, particularly blogger Kateryna Yarosh, who launched a fundraising campaign. Kateryna, from a neighbouring house in the Vidradnyi suburb, is collecting funds to support victims of the Russian attack, with the collection open to public contributions.

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