Ukrainians mourning neighbours killed by brutal Russian attacks on Kyiv have told the Express they are suspicious of Vladimir Putin’s proposed ceasefire.
Yuliya Antonyuk wiped tears from her eyes as she laid a small bundle of roses at a memorial for the nine civilians who were killed in a ballistic missile strike on the residential district of Svyatoshno on Thursday. The site of the attack was just yards from her home and she feels vulnerable.
“Anyone could have died,” she said, staring at the twisted mass of concrete that used to be a large block of flats. “We are used already to drones but when the rockets come [it is different].
“We are live on the 24th floor and when the building shook we knew the attack was near. You don’t have time to escape. We just sit with our neighbours and their children, waiting.”
Yuliya came to pay her respects with her husband Oleksandr. He was one of many Ukrainians who doubted whether an enemy, which is ignoring so many of the conventions of war, could be trusted.
“Everything Putin has said is 100% lies,” Oleksandr said, “He is doing everything in order to destroy Ukraine. We can’t trust his words and need to defend ourselves. He only hears the language of war.”
Former military colonel Oleg Zhganov echoed that sentiment, pointing out that the Russians used the previous ceasefire strategically.
“Russia used the last ceasefire [over Easter] to prepare for another attack,” he said.
“They entered the grey zone, bringing ammunition and food. By the end of Easter, they had a new position in front of the Ukrainian army.”
Zhganov has consistently seen the brutal ways Putin’s attacks have hit civilians. Nine people in his neighbourhood of Vyshneve on the outskirts of the city have been killed by the shrapnel from drones and an entire house was flattened by a rocket.
The ex-colonel said the only way for there to be an effective ceasefire was if there was some type of independent arbiter to determine whether both sides were acting honestly.
However, he doubts the reliability of the United States to perform such a role after they changed the UN Resolution about the war to suggest that Ukraine had provoked Russia.
“There should be a third party monitoring the ceasefire,” he added, “Russia do not accept international norms or recognise the laws for conducting the war. Putin can do what he wants and accepts no responsibility.
“European countries fear the Russian Federation at the moment is very strong. Russia often mentions its nuclear powers saying ‘who will we hit first France, Spain or Potrugal?”
Back in Svyatoshno another neighbour scared by the blast, music teacher Natalia Konorukova, holds little hope of a resolution.
“Politicians from many countries are just telling fariytales,” she said, “For three years nothing has been done it’s just blah blah blah.”