Caritas responds as Russian strike near Kyiv destroys homes, forces mass evacuation
Caritas has again been mobilised in Ukraine as Russia stepped up attacks last week.
10 July 2026 - KYIV - A Russian missile and drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv has left residents homeless, triggered large-scale evacuations and prompted an emergency response from Caritas teams.
The attack struck the town of Vyshneve, west of the Ukrainian capital, on 6 July. The strike hit a warehouse site, causing secondary explosions that damaged homes, businesses and public buildings across the town. More than 600 residents were evacuated as fires spread and emergency crews worked to secure the area.
Vyshneve is part of the wider Kyiv region, which has faced repeated Russian aerial attacks since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
For resident Oleksii, the attack destroyed everything he owned.
He was travelling to work when the first explosions were reported. Later, he saw flames rising from the neighbourhood where his house stood.
When he returned, there was little left.
His home had been reduced to rubble. Only a gazebo, a pair of bicycles and a generator survived. His street was among the areas hardest hit by the secondary explosions that followed the initial strike.
The blast wave damaged hundreds of civilian sites across the town, including private homes, warehouses, administrative buildings and commercial premises. The attack also created a public health risk. Local officials said air pollution levels rose to around five times normal levels because of smoke and fine particulate matter released by the fires.
Maria Chetvertak, a project assistant with Caritas Ukraine, was sheltering in her apartment building when the attack began.
"I took shelter on the ground floor of my apartment building. I live on the 15th floor, and staying in my apartment felt far too dangerous.
"Everything around me shook from explosions so powerful that words can hardly describe them. I could hear debris falling from every direction and setting things on fire, along with the constant shattering of windows.
"By morning, darkness had replaced daylight, and the air had turned black with smoke."
Maria was able to leave the area around 05.30 after her brother reached her by car.
"We made our way through streets covered with shattered glass and soot, passing burning vehicles, warehouses and buildings with their windows blown out.
"In many ways, my home was incredibly fortunate. My apartment building remained standing, and even my windows were left intact. I was far luckier than many of my friends and the hundreds of other people whose homes burned to the ground."
Caritas Ukraine and Caritas Kyiv began responding within hours of the attack.
Teams distributed emergency food kits to first responders and evacuees, providing support during rescue and evacuation operations. Temporary accommodation has also been arranged for residents unable to return home.
The attack on Vyshneve occurred during a broader wave of strikes targeting Kyiv and surrounding areas. Ukrainian officials reported multiple fatalities and injuries across the region following the overnight assault, one of the latest large-scale attacks on civilian areas as the war enters its fifth year.
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