Lviv street cleaner keeps shovelling snow after Shahed explosion, video goes viral

A Russian drone fell and exploded on a children's playground near the monument to Stepan Bandera in the city of Lviv on the morning of 15 January. At the time, municipal workers were on duty nearby, including a street cleaner, Olha. [Stepan Bandera was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (Banderites) – ed.]

Source: Olha to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Details: When an air-raid warning was issued, the woman did not go to a shelter and was close to the scene of the explosion. She continued clearing snow immediately after the Shahed drone detonated.

The 59-year-old Olha has worked as a street cleaner for 10 years, helping to keep the city clean.

Quote from Olha: "My coworker and I were standing there. I was cleaning the bus stop. I didn't know anything was going to fly in. Then we were told to run and it flew right over our heads. There was a dull but very loud explosion.

I thought it was a mine, but the police officer said it was a Shahed."

Details: Later, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi called Olha to check how she was feeling. She told him she was fine.

Quote from Sadovyi: "I don't know whether to thank you or to scold you. Your courage today impressed everyone in Ukraine. I want to thank you for serving the community and for your work. We will thank you separately as well.

But I also want to stress that when there is an air raid, please take care and stay safe. I understand there is work to be done, but your safety comes first."

A video showing Olha at the scene quickly spread online. Ukrainians praised her calm reaction to the drone explosion.

"The level of stress resistance I aspire to," wrote a Threads user named Dasha under the video.

Historian and journalist Vakhtang Kipiani added: "The nervous system of this Ukrainian woman, Olha from Lviv, should be recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage."

Background:

• An explosion was heard after a Russian drone fell on a children's playground near the Stepan Bandera monument in Lviv on 15 January.
• The blast wave slightly affected a tractor driver who was clearing snow nearby, but he is fine. No one was killed in the attack.
• Early reports indicated that nine residential buildings had been damaged, with windows blown out. Stained glass windows at the Church of Saints Olha and Elizabeth were also damaged. Windows were shattered at School No. 55, a nearby college and two buildings of Lviv Polytechnic National University.

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