When I woke up, I glanced at my phone and saw that the air raid alert had already been on for over an hour. Just a few moments later, I heard two loud bangs. I went to the balcony of our 8th floor apartment, and over part of Kyiv, just south of us, I saw the sporadic contrails that I have learned are indicative of a Russian missile that has just been shot down (picture below). The interception was probably only a mile or two from our apartment.
We were planning on traveling back to the Czech Republic in a few hours, so I started to get ready to go. While eating breakfast, I heard two more loud bangs, and I stepped out to the balcony, searching for signs of what was going on. I placed my hand on the window frame to look up as high as I could, and at that moment I heard four more explosions in very quick succession. As they sounded off, I could feel the window frame pulsate from the concussion.
I only saw a plume of smoke several miles to the south of our apartment. But this was the first time I had heard and felt the impact of a Russian missile strike.
10-15 miles to the east of me, Vitalik and Lena were driving towards Safe Haven. Suddenly, an impossibly fast missile streaked right in front of them crashing just past the highway
. Lena said the missile felt like it was right next to them, but thinks that it was actually about 1 km away.
About 10 miles south of our apartment, everyone at Safe Haven had gathered in the living room, the central part of the house, and therefore the safest place to be in most situations. There they prayed that God would keep them safe, and if not, that they would all go together. Suddenly, they heard an incredibly loud explosion, and Anya says the walls of the house started to shake to the point that she was afraid the whole house would collapse.
In the following silence, everyone scoured their contacts for reports of what had happened. A missile had struck their suburb of Kyiv for the first time. It landed less than a kilometer from Safe Haven and destroyed three homes (pictured above). Three people were severely injured, but no one was killed.
This was the closest that any of us had been to missile strikes, including the young men who have lived in Safe Haven throughout the war.
The plan was still for Lena and I to drive out to the Ukrainian border after lunch. The attack seems to have caused a bit of panic in Kyiv, so most of the roads heading west were congested with traffic. When I checked the best possible routes, one that was offered was to drive north through Kyiv and to then loop through Bucha and Irpin back down to the main highway. I had been wanting to see these cities because we have friends who live there. It was shocking to see blocks of housed that were completely destroyed and also see blocks of houses that didn’t look touched. It was clear how busy the people have been cleaning and rebuilding. There was a big Home Depot store that I have been in many times that was completely destroyed (below). Those personal connections really make a difference in how much the destruction affects you. Far from everything was destroyed, but there is still so much senseless destruction.
On December 29th, Russia launched 16 missiles at Kyiv alone. All of them were intercepted by Ukrainian defensive forces. The one that hit near Safe Haven was a deflected missile. At 1:36 AM, on December 30th, Russian forces launched 16 drones against Ukraine: all were downed. On December 31st, there was another massive strike across the country, but it hasn’t been released how many missiles were launched or shot down. There were many civilian casualties. It is generally understood that the Russians wanted Ukraine to meet the New Year in the cold and dark. On January 1st, less than an hour after Ukraine welcomed the new year, Russia launch 45 drones, all of which were shot down, though some still caused damage to infrastructure.
As of December 31st, the air raid sirens have gone off 638 times in Kyiv alone since the beginning of Russia’s full scale invasion.
When the air raid alert went off on December 31st, and stayed on for over four hours, we were already back in the Czech Republic. Those hours were more stressful for me than being in Ukraine on the 29th. The calmness of everyone else who was used to this soothed me. If something happened, you would know immediately and do something. Sitting in the Czech Republic, I just waited. My window into what was happening was very small, and that made it a lot harder to endure.
In spite of the content threat of attack and the uncertainties around when you will have power, or heat or water, I was amazed at the determination, and the joy of the Ukrainian people. We arrived in Ukraine on December 24th. Anya and Lena wanted to spent Christmas with their spouses, and I had more than a car load of aid to take in. Ukrainian workers continue to do an amazing job of getting as much power as possible to people across the country. They just don’t give up. I was able to witness so many reunions and celebrations on Christmas Day and the days after. There was so much joy and laughter. It has been true since the beginning of the war that people have really been drawn closer together through this. I count myself to be truly blessed to have been able to see Ukrainians show the world what they are made of.
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