Lukianivska Square in Kyiv: the most bombed neighborhood resembles Chornobyl
Kyiv's Lukianivska Square, the most bombed neighborhood in the city, has suffered increasingly severe attacks in recent months, damaging both industrial and civilian structures and instilling fear and anxiety among residents.
On Lukianivska Square, Kyiv's most bombed neighborhood, the concentration of strikes has been the highest over the past four years, according to heat maps of air raid frequency. The situation has only worsened in recent months, making this corner of the city look like a scene from much closer to the frontlines.
The local McDonald's has been damaged three times this year alone, leading one resident to joke that the golden arches have become a 'symbol of resistance.' The restaurant is busy until an air raid alarm sends staff and customers down the escalators to shelter in the nearby metro station. The last major attack on May 24 caused a fire that engulfed a shopping centre, melting the white letters on the McDonald's sign. The metro station, hit five times, is partially boarded up.
Civilian structures have also been hit: a glass tower lost many of its windows, burnt-out cars sit by the curb, and passersby stop to look at a scorched and gutted building. Most activity now centers on a small market under one of the ruined structures.
Anastasiia Prymak, 23, a product manager living nearby, moved to Kyiv from Nikopol two years ago due to constant bombardment there, but now faces massive strikes here. A drone hit the roof of her building on April 28. She has been diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder and is begging her boyfriend to move to Lviv. She shows a video of wrecked buildings, saying the area looks like Chornobyl. 'I sleep curled up like an embryo because I am afraid a drone or a rocket will hit. I want to be killed in one go. I don't want to lose a limb,' she says.
Faina Polishchuk, a flower seller, says that after the last strike, most of her colleagues were crying and didn't want to return for a few days, but this is her livelihood. She saw the attack from her apartment window: the whole building was shaking. Initially expressing optimism that she is not afraid, she adds that if it gets worse, she will go to Vinnytsia.
Russian officials have signaled an intention to launch heavier and 'systematic' strikes against Ukrainian cities, exploiting a global shortage of missile interceptors. President Zelenskyy has urged allies to scale up air defenses and deep-strike capabilities.
