A Russian ballistic missile strike destroyed a house in Radushne on July 30, killing or leaving missing 10 members of the Voronov family. Artem and Olena Voronov had moved to the village in the Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk oblast with their 10 children in 2020, news publication ZDG reported.
The missile detonated down to the foundation, leaving a deep crater where the house once stood. Rubble at the site included a dusty tennis racket bag, a Crafts magazine, wallpaper rolls, diapers, a first-grade mathematics exercise book, an alphabet book, children's drawings, diplomas, and a small blue party dress. ZDG reported that the dress may have belonged to seven-year-old Emilia or been passed down to younger sisters.
Local residents created an improvised memorial with flowers, toys, and 10 funeral portraits framed against concrete rubble. The photographs showed Artem Voronov, 47, Olena Voronova, 41, Mark, 17, Dominika, 16, Viorika, 14, Zakharii, 13, Azarii-Ilai, 11, Federika, 9, Emilia, 7, and 1.5-year-old Artem Voronov. ZDG reported that all 10 were killed in an instant by the ballistic missile, while only their dog Roki survived.
Tributes From Local Residents
Local residents periodically bring flowers and toys to the site, with some paying tribute silently and others weeping. Resident Lyudmyla laid flowers at the ruins and said she had known the parents since childhood and worked with them. She said Artem and Olena had fallen in love in school and raised a large family, having both grown up in large families themselves.
Lyudmyla said the couple bought, renovated, and cared for the house. She added through tears that they were a devout and sincere Ukrainian family. Olena was creative, loved flowers, and always dressed the children in embroidered shirts.
The strike also completely destroyed two nearby houses, one of which was empty, while two children were rescued from under the rubble of the other. On a neighboring street, roofs were blown off, windows shattered, and walls cracked. Neighbor Vitalii, who helped clear rubble, said the blast shockwave blew off roofs across the neighborhood and was so strong he thought his own house would collapse.
Survivors Recall The Tragedy
Three adult children from the family survived the attack. Aurika, 25, lives in Germany; Matvii, 20, lives in Poland; and Danylo, 23, serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Aurika wrote on social media that she was now a sister to seven angels, posting a photo taken by her mother in 2020 for a national shirt contest. Their mother had visited Aurika in Germany to see her two grandchildren and returned home one day before the strike.
Danylo said his sister and grandmother called him on the night of July 30. His grandmother told him weeping that nothing remained of their home. Danylo realized everyone was inside and tried calling his brother Mark, hoping Mark was in Kryvyi Rih with his girlfriend, but Mark's phone was out of coverage.
Danylo drove from Mykolaiv that night and reached Radushne by morning. By the time he arrived, searchers had recovered the bodies of his parents, Mark, and Emilia. Danylo said he provided rescuers with a floor plan of the house and realized the missile crater marked the exact location of the crib belonging to his 1.5-year-old son, Artem. The boy was visiting his grandparents, and Danylo had planned to pick him up on July 31.
Danylo said his father worked as a chief master at regional power grids in Kryvyi Rih and had taught him to play chess as a child. His mother worked as an economist at a local outpatient clinic. Danylo recalled that each sibling had hobbies and household chores, adding that sisters Dominika and Viorika regularly baked pies or sausages in dough.
Funerals And Missing Family Members
A funeral ceremony took place in Radushne on August 3. Aurika and Matvii traveled to Ukraine to join Danylo in burying their parents, Artem and Olena, along with Mark, Azarii-Ilai, and Emilia, whose bodies were recovered and identified.
Five family members remain officially listed as missing: Dominika, Viorika, Federika, Zakharii, and baby Artem. The Kryvyi Rih district administration reported that 17 body fragments were recovered from the site and require forensic testing for identification.
Additional Russian Attacks Across Ukraine
Russian forces also launched major strikes against other regions of Ukraine on August 9. Military observer Oleksandr Kovalenko reported that Odesa and Odesa oblast suffered their largest attack of the full-scale invasion overnight on August 9. Monitoring channels indicated Russian forces launched 70 to 90 Shahed-136 and Shahed-238 drones, alongside five to seven 9M723 missiles, two to 11 3M55 Oniks missiles, five Banderol missiles, and one Kh-31P missile, with all Banderol missiles reportedly shot down.
In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that Russian forces deliberately struck residential buildings in the Saltivskyi district on the morning of August 9. Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov reported that a drone hit a 10-story apartment building, destroying floors seven through 10, before a second strike hit an adjacent high-rise. Terekhov stated that two people died in the Kharkiv attack and another was hospitalized with severe injuries.
