Kyiv families live around Russian drone attacks

Families in Kyiv are organising school, work, travel and power use around Russian drone attacks that have killed more than 190 people in the Ukrainian capital since January.

Anastasiia Zhmutska, a 44-year-old hospital worker and mother of three, said air alerts and explosions now shape her family's days. She took her five-year-old daughter to a second home away from the attacks, recharges power banks at work and uses brief periods of electricity at home to do essential chores.

At her 14-year-old son Orest's school, children moved to an underground shelter after drones were detected approaching Kyiv at 10:44 a.m. A drone engine was heard above the school, followed by anti-aircraft fire and a distant detonation.

Literature teacher Nadia Sherekhor said the attacks have affected lessons and that “Kyiv doesn't sleep.” Orest said he is used to shelters and explosions but has become more anxious in recent months.

Zhmutska said the family's anxiety increased on October 14, when a Russian drone hit a business centre between the school and home. A student waiting for a bus was severely wounded, and fragments from the blast fell onto Zhmutska's apartment building.

Power cuts have also complicated transport. The family faced heavy traffic near the Southern Bridge, which had been closed since Russian drones hit it the previous week.