Woman crouching in remains of Ukrainian apartment block: Survivor, 23, lost her husband in war

A young woman in Ukraine has gone viral on Sunday after being rescued from the fifth floor of an apartment block that was totally destroyed by Russian strikes – just weeks after the loss of her husband who was killed fighting in the war.

Anastasia Shvets, 23, was in her apartment’s bathroom at the time of the explosion and was left hiding in the corner of the flat, clutching a green teddy and a golden decorative garland.

She was left with her hands over her face in shock after being at the heart of the attack on a block of flats in Dnipro on Saturday night.

Pictures from the scene appeared to show her in tears as she was being pulled out of the wreckage by emergency services.

The 23-year-old was left in shock as she realised she was completely alone within the rubble

She was seen clutching a green teddy and a festive garland as rescuers led her away from the building

She had been enjoying a meal with her parents in the kitchen just moments before the missile strike, only to leave for the bathroom and then find her kitchen, and her parents, nowhere in sight.

A photographer captured her horror shortly after the strike, seemingly as she realised that she was alone.

She described having ‘no words… no emotions’ in the aftermath of the attack as she posted to her followers from her hospital bed. 

She suffered wounds to her head and legs, and does not know whether her parents survived the missile strike. 

She added: ‘I want to see my parents. I am in pain. Do I even exist?’

Russia launched a massive wave of missiles into Ukraine on Saturday night, after calling a halt to strikes over Orthodox Christmas last week.

Putin’s officials claimed that Ukrainian air-defence systems had hit their missile over Dnipro, deflecting it into the apartment block, but Ukrainian officials said are incapable of shooting down ballistic and cruise missiles. 

Ms Shvets tragically lost her husband to the war in Ukraine just months before last night’s attack. 

She previously said: ‘I still can’t get over it’s been two weeks since I heard your voice and seen your smile. 

‘When was the last time you told me how much you loved me. Everything was in the end, all dreams and our goals.’

Posting an update from her hospital bed, Ms Shvets could be seen still clutching the green dinosaur she escaped from her apartment with

She shared photos of her remarkably light injuries to her followers on Instagram

Ms Shvets lost her husband (pictured) just months ago, and is not clear where her parents currently are

Ms Shvets wrote on Instagram on Sunday: ‘I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside’ (Pictured: Ms Shvets before the attack)

At least 21 people were killed in the strike which Ms Shvets, pictured on her Instagram, miraculously survived

A rescue mission remains under way in Dnipro after Russian missiles struck the building in the central Ukrainian city late last night.

Harrowing images from the scene show survivors being pulled from the wreckage of what remains of the block, including those who are injured.

At least 35 people are still missing and 73 were injured, Mykola Lukashuk, head of the regional council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

‘Burn in hell, Russian murderers,’ he wrote.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among those transported to hospital with severe injuries.

Ms Shvets wrote on Instagram on Sunday: ‘I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside.

‘I was not living, but existing all the time. […]

‘I was covered by the door in the bed[room], part of the kitchen, bathroom, kitchen, corridor and pantry (how the “pantry” at home will be) is gone, there is an abyss and I see other parts of the entrance, someone else’s entrance. 

‘I am almost intact, despite the wound on my head and bare legs.

‘I do not know where my parents are. 

‘They say they saw me alive, I am sure they were in the kitchen, which is no longer there. 

‘I did not want to escape, I wanted my parents to be found. I understand that Richard is gone. He hardly survived.

‘I remember my father’s stupid jokes today, how we took pictures of puppies with my mother today, ate my mother’s Udon.

‘I became popular, although I did not want it, almost every public [media company] publishes [photographs of] me. And I want to see my parents.

‘I’m in pain. Do I even exist?’

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

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Emergency personnel evacuate a person at the site of the missile strike on Sunday morning

Rescue team work among the rubble of a damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2023

Emergency workers clear rubble with many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Rescue workers carry a woman rescued from the apartment block away from the scene and towards a waiting ambulance on Sunday

A Dnipro citizen cries as she watches firefighters and other rescue workers trying to save survivors

By Sunday morning, smoke was still coming off the wrecked building as firefighters continued to rescue those trapped inside

A rescue worker carries a cat pulled alive from the wreckage towards safety following the horrific strike

The death toll, currently 21, is likely to rise as there are dozens of people still feared trapped under the debris. By lunchtime on Sunday, the city’s mayor said the chance of finding more survivors was already small.

The entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets. 

‘They (Russians) are just inhuman. At least one stairwell is gone. Under the rubble there are people who were at home for the holiday,’ said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office.

Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames in the aftermath of the attack as rescuers began to pick through the wreckage in the hope of finding survivors.