After a Russian attack on Odesa, the daughter of Marina Averina, spokesperson for the regional branch of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, sent her mother a message from school: “Should I come home after school, or is there nowhere to come back to?”
The Russian strike damaged the 21-story apartment building where Averina and her family live. At the time of the attack, Averina was at work, while her daughter was sheltering at school.
“Today, this message from my daughter completely broke me. I wanted to cry. I finally did after we finished the last interview,” Averina wrote.
Their apartment survived the attack, but a neighboring section of the building was heavily damaged.
According to the State Emergency Service, the strike destroyed an apartment on the 12th floor and sparked a fire on the 10th. The blast wave damaged the facade, balconies and windows on every floor of one section of the building. Four people were injured.
“We’re all fine. I was at work, and my daughter was in the shelter at school. Apartments in the neighboring entrance were damaged. But living on the 21st floor has become even scarier,” Averina said.
Forty Ukrainian emergency responders were deployed to deal with the aftermath of the attack. State Emergency Service psychologists also worked at the scene, providing support to residents of the damaged building.
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