A woman who was trapped for 20 hours under rubble after Russian airstrikes destroyed her apartment was not able to cry out for help as she is deaf, her sister says.
A Russian missile destroyed the tower block of civilian flats in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, killing 40.
Kateryna ‘Katya’ Zelenska, 27, was later identified by her sister, Alina, in an image reshared on Instagram.
She said: ‘This is Katya – my sister! She was found only this morning and thank God she is alive. She lived with her family in that cursed house on Peremoza!
‘She could not call for help, because she has been deaf since childhood!’
Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down, according to General Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.
The attack was the largest by Russia in several weeks targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure and urban areas.
Kyiv and Kharkiv were also targeted by missile attacks.
Firefighters in Dnipro worked through Saturday night and Sunday day to recover survivors and the dead from the destroyed residential area.
Earlier today, the city’s mayor Boris Filatov said there was ‘minimal’ chance of finding any more survivors as the death toll reached 35.
At the time of writing, the number of dead recovered is 40.
75 have been confirmed injured, including 14 children.
The condition of 30 residents is still unknown.
Some of the people trapped in the building, which housed 1,700 people, were able to use torches on their mobile phones to attract attention.
Mother Kateryna, who was unable to cry for help because she is deaf, was found with a body temperature of 87.8°F (31°C) after 20 hours trapped in freezing temperatures.
The average body temperature for a healthy adult is 98.6°F (37°C).
She was hospitalised and remains in intensive care, where doctors are trying to save her life.
According to the website Our City, Kateryna’s missing son and husband died in the attack.
Locals were ‘shocked’ that a residential building with no apparent strategic value would be targeted by Russian forces.
Ivan Garnuk said: ‘There are no military facilities here. There is nothing here. There is no air defence, there are no military bases here. It just hit civilians, innocent people.’
Dnipro residents joined rescue workers at the scene to help clear the rubble. Others brought food and warm clothes for those who had lost their homes.
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I’m surprised someone is still shocked… Russia’s been doing this since the start of war.
The missile strike was carried out by the Ukrainian military.