Ukraine war: ‘I want Putin to die’ – Shock and anger after dozens of Russian missiles hit Kyiv
I met Larysa standing on broken glass outside her Kyiv apartment block trying to convince two council workmen to come up to her flat and mend her shattered windows.
Only hours earlier she had been shaken to the core by a huge explosion in the residential complex car park three floors beneath her.
She invited us inside saying she had been terrified by the blast.
Larysa was clearly in shock and very teary.
Hypersonic missiles fired by Russia in hours of strikes – war latest
Larysa had been shaken by a huge blast
As we walked towards the entrance to her block I looked up; dozens and dozens of windows were shattered for floor after floor of the building.
Inside, the workmen started clearing up while we chatted.
“There was an explosion, and of course, I jumped immediately,” she told me.
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Police search for missile fragments in a residential area in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv
“I just looked outside and saw people running, so I ran through my apartment and checked all my windows… and then I saw the ambulance and fire engines arrive 15 minutes later.”
She kept telling me how she worries about her grandchildren, so I asked her if she could try to explain to another grandmother in the UK what it’s like living through this war.
“Oh, don’t even ask, most of all I worry about my children and grandchildren, one of my sons is on the frontline, the oldest one. I don’t worry about myself, I have thick skin, so I am okay, but my children…”
A missile struck a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv’s Svyatoshyns’kyi district
‘Let them be cursed!’
Larysa grew increasingly upset as we spoke – and she is particularly upset with Russia, its people, and President Putin.
“May they be cursed! I hope they can hear me, even friends I have known there my whole life… let them be cursed!
“I don’t worry about myself, I’m old, but I worry about my children and grandchildren,” she reiterated.
“I want an end to this as soon as possible, I want Putin to die…”
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Residents walk past the destruction
Shrapnel scars children’s playground
In the car park below, police searched for fragments of missile that hit this residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, in Svyatoshyns’kyi district. They were trying to figure out exactly what it was.
The Russians fired a whole range of weapons across the country, shattering the morning peace with devastating effect.
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Deadly strikes hit Kyiv and Lviv regions
Cars here caught fire as the missile crashed into the ground, and dozens upon dozens of apartment windows were shattered in the blast.
The children’s playground wasn’t spared either – we saw shrapnel marks on the swings and slides.
A few men were surveying their damaged vehicles, seeing what they could repair.
“As you see, we just try to fix the problem and continue to live and hope for the best… all the wars in history come to an end, so I hope it will be fast and peace will come soon,” one of them told me.
Strikes and sirens are part of life in Kyiv
Council workers began delivering large rolls of plastic sheeting for people to repair their windows as best as possible.
It is relatively mild here in Ukraine at the moment, but the temperatures can plunge in a matter of hours.
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How significant were missile strikes?
This was a massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and one of the targets was a power station in Kyiv, which burnt through the morning.
By the time we got to it, the fire was out, but there have been power cuts caused by the attack.
Firefighters extinguish a blaze after a missile strike in Kyiv
People take shelter in a metro station during an alarm
Air raid sirens periodically sounded throughout the day here in the capital, and after three weeks of relative quiet, we watched as some residents once again returned to the metro to await the all-clear.
This surprised me; that even after all this time people still run for shelter when the sirens ring out.
It’s part of life here now.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
Follow the latest developments in our live blog
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada
John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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