She said on Friday’s broadcast ofBBC World Newsthat her family’s home in Kyiv, the Ukraine capital, was destroyed in Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“Yes, when we agreed yesterday to come to the studio in the morning, I could not imagine that at 3 a.m. London time I would find out that my home is bombed,” she toldBBC World Newsanchor Karin Giannone as pictures of thedevastation in Kyivwere displayed. “That footage that everybody saw is literally my home.”
She added, “Thank god my family is safe. Thank god there were no victims.”
Malchevska also said she had finally received a message from her mother after not being able to reach her.
“She’s been taking shelter,” she said of her mom. “She is hiding in the basement and luckily, she was not in our building which is bombed at night.”
Malchevska became emotional as she continued to discuss the situation in Kyiv and more footage of her family’s destroyed home was shown.
Leon Klein/Anadolu Agency/Getty
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just can’t believe in my head what I’m seeing is actually somewhere where I use to live.”
The invasion is still evolving. Ukraine’s president,Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said early Friday local time that at least137 people had been killedand 316 were wounded,according toreports.
Many of those killed appear to be soldiers, per the AP, citing earlier figures that 40 Ukrainian soldiers were among the dead. However, there were also reports of civilians who were killed,including at leastone young child. NBC News reported the figures also include medical staff. The extent of Russian casualties remained unclear.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine earlier this week, according to the government, with forces moving from the north, east and south.
Numerous residents have been seen trying to flee. “We are facing a war and horror. What could be worse?” one 64-year-old woman living in Kyiv told the Associated Press.
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Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called “peacekeeping.”
source: people.com
