Published on 6/20/2026
Tatiana and her son Jacob find no place to take shelter from the continuing Russian bombing of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, except metro stations, which have recently become a refuge for many residents, some of whom decided to leave and others who insisted on staying.
Weeks ago, Moscow re-targeted Kiev in an unprecedented way and struck it with some of its most powerful missiles, causing deaths and injuries and causing great destruction to buildings and facilities.
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According to a report prepared by Omar Al-Haj for Al Jazeera, the sirens have now determined what Kiev residents must do during the night, and they only have the corridors of the stations to sleep in or think about what they must do.
Tatiana wants her son and son to remain safe, and she cannot find a better place to take shelter temporarily than the metro station. While others decided to pack their bags and go to a safer place in the west of the country and perhaps abroad.
Some left and some decided to stay
Mrs. Hanna, who was displaced with her child from Donetsk, located in the Donbass region, to Kiev, which she thought would be better off, is now planning to send her son to a camp in western Ukraine, and she will not remain in the capital either.
But others adapted to the sounds of explosions and the dangers of war and decided to stay even if the shells hit their homes. Among them is Valentina, 70 years old, who refuses to leave her home even though she is alone and her son has been fighting on the front lines for 3 years.
The seventy-year-old woman believes that death will reach her sooner rather than later. Because the Russians are bombing everywhere, as she told Al Jazeera, and they have bombed the neighborhood where she lives more than once, and she was present during a recent attack on her area, but she is satisfied that she is fine and knows that her son is fine.
Valentina is not alone. The processions of fighters that roam the streets of Kiev daily say that many have decided to stay to keep their country’s flags raised despite the grief and loss they are experiencing.
During the past weeks, Russia launched several attacks on Kiev and used hypersonic missiles and drones that caused massive destruction, prompting President Vladimir Zelensky to request urgent support from the United States and Europe.
Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that his country had tested its old weapons in Ukraine and that it was ready to stop the war immediately if Kiev accepted what was asked of it, saying that the Ukrainians do not possess the weapons that Russia possesses.
Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been launching an attack on Ukraine and stipulates in order to end it that its neighbor abandons joining Western military entities, which Kiev considers “interference” in its affairs.
