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A Jewish couple in Ukraine have been left facing homelessness after fleeing a Russian missile strike in their nightclothes, without even having time to collect their identity documents.
Lyudmila Petukhova, 62, and her husband Pavel, 61, escaped their apartment building in the northern city of Pryluky when it was struck during Russian attacks on 7 October.
Their flat was in an adjoining section of the five-storey building, which was hit in an attack that reportedly killed 22 people, including five children, and injured 54 others.
The couple, who are supported by British humanitarian charity World Jewish Relief, now face the prospect of finding somewhere else to live without the money to pay rent.
“We ran out of the building in our nightclothes. We didn’t even have time to grab the bag containing our documents,” Lyudmila said.
“Now we’re waiting to be allowed back in so we can find anything that has survived and, most importantly, retrieve our documents. We now have to work out where to live. We cannot afford to rent a flat.”
The strike was part of a wider wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on 6 and 7 October, which hit residential buildings and damaged essential services as the country prepares for another winter of war.
The attacks also affected Kyiv and Kremenchuk, with homes damaged, civilians killed and power supplies disrupted.
World Jewish Relief said two Jewish households supported by its local partner, Hesed Esther, had suffered serious damage to their homes but survived the attack.
Olena Sorokina, director of Hesed Esther, said: “Two of our Jewish clients’ flats were badly damaged. People are in shock but thank goodness, they are alive.”
More than 18,000 residents in Pryluky were temporarily left without gas after the city’s network was badly damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the damaged building on Thursday alongside British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who was in Ukraine to announce further British support.
The Ukrainian president’s office said the missile had destroyed one section of the building and severely damaged another, with more than 125 homes and other properties affected across the city.
In Kyiv, Jewish charities are also struggling to support elderly residents amid power cuts and fears of further attacks.
Julia Goldenberg, director of 2U, a local partner of World Jewish Relief, said elderly Jewish residents had arrived for meals exhausted after spending the night listening to explosions.
“Yesterday we delivered and distributed hot meals for the elderly, lonely and impoverished Jewish community members,” she said.
“People came to us completely exhausted after the night filled with explosions and danger. All of them have no idea what to expect from the coming winter and how they will survive.”
Another charity partner in Kyiv, Dreamland, reported losing electricity for between three and six hours a day, with staff concerned that heating and running water could also be disrupted during the colder months.
Its director, Oleksiy Tolkachov, said: “We are preparing for winter, when we may have no electricity, no heating and no running water.”
The latest attacks have left Jewish families facing further uncertainty as charities work to provide food and essential support ahead of winter.
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