Miracle Survival: 89-Year-Old Kyiv Resident Endures Missile Strike on Lukyanivka

The Tragedy of Alla Umanska

According to Главком: Alla Umanska, an 89-year-old resident of Kyiv, miraculously survived a missile attack on the Lukyanivka district on June 24. She is now hospitalized and preparing for rehabilitation. Photographer Kostyantyn Liberov shared images of the woman and her devastated apartment, which suffered extensive damage from the strike.

A retired teacher of Ukrainian history and law, Umanska was pulled from the rubble after the first explosion because her ground-floor apartment was hit hardest. At the time of the attack, she woke up disoriented, initially perceiving the blast as a blow to her face. According to Kostyantyn Liberov,

“her first thought was that her nose had been pushed inside her face.”

The injuries have worsened her hearing and significantly deteriorated her overall health.

Before being evacuated, Umanska managed to grab her apartment keys and called her daughter Tamara, asking her to lock up the flat. Tragically, the fire from the strike destroyed the poetry she had written throughout her life-an additional profound loss. Having survived World War II, Umanska finds the current conflict even more painful. As Liberov noted,

“after losing her apartment, what hurts her most is the young people dying. Among them are her former students-she is a teacher in the truest sense of the word.”

The June 24 Attack on Kyiv

The missile and drone barrage on Kyiv on June 24 was one of the most intense since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russian forces deployed:

• 90 cruise and ballistic missiles
• 600 drones

Confirmed impacts included 16 missiles and 51 unmanned aerial vehicles at 54 locations, with debris falling at an additional 23 sites. Damage occurred across all districts of Kyiv, striking major cultural institutions, including:

• National Art Museum of Ukraine
• National Chornobyl Museum
• National Philharmonic of Ukraine
• Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music
• Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine
• Kyiv Opera

Kostyantyn Liberov emphasized the importance of individuals like Alla Umanska:

“People like her are our intelligentsia, our roots. Russia has taken not only everything she accumulated in life. Russia has stolen her memories, her peace, and her confidence in the future.”

He added that while memories cannot be restored,

“we can at least restore her faith in a dignified old age.”

Umanska’s daughter, Tamara, has launched a fundraising campaign to support her mother through this ordeal.

This tragedy highlights both personal losses and the broader toll on Ukrainian society amid war. The June 24 attack demonstrates how conflict disrupts the lives of ordinary people, their families, and their cultural heritage. Public response and grassroots initiatives to aid victims reflect solidarity and support that are crucial in these difficult times. It is essential to remember the human face of war-behind every statistic and number are real stories that demand attention and assistance.

The ongoing conflict has claimed numerous innocent lives, including those of sisters Vera and Lyubava, who tragically lost their lives in a recent Russian strike. Their story, emblematic of the personal toll of war, highlights the profound impact of such attacks on families and communities. To learn more about this heartbreaking incident and its implications for the residents of Kyiv, read about the sisters' farewell here.