Embassy: Filipinos in Ukraine 'all accounted for' amid fresh Russian strike on Kyiv

WARSAW, Poland – The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw has reported that the 31 Filipinos living in Ukraine are “safe and all accounted for” amid a new large-scale Russian strike on Kyiv, which has killed four people and injured about a hundred others.

The embassy shared this update with GMA News over a phone call on Monday morning.

It added that they have been continuously checking in on the small Filipino community in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since Sunday morning.

Russia launched drone strikes and deployed a barrage of missiles, including the powerful hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, that damaged dozens of residential buildings, schools, a market, and a museum in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday evening.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a “heavy attack” that involved “90 missiles of various types, many of them ballistic missiles … and 600 drones”.

“Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted – the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,” Zelenskyy wrote on his X account.

Local and Western media quoted the Russian defense ministry as describing the strikes as a retaliation for what it said were Ukraine’s attacks on “civil facilities on Russian territory”.

Ukraine denies Russia’s accusations.

“[Russia is] waging war only against our people, against our memory, history, against everything that shapes normal human life. It is important that Russia understands that for all these crimes, they will be held accountable,” Zelenskyy said.

“Like thunderclaps”

On Saturday afternoon, Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians and other residents to take shelter and “protect your lives” against what he described as “Russian madness”, following intelligence reports about an impending strike that would use the Oreshnik missile.

Russia first used the Oreshnik in an attack on a Ukrainian military facility in Dnipro on November 21 last year, which Russian President Vladimir Putin described as “successful”.

The Oreshnik, which means “hazel tree” in Russian, can hit targets between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometers away.

Euronews, citing the Kremlin, reported that the Oreshnik travels at roughly 10 times the speed of sound, making it difficult, as claimed by Russian officials, for air defense systems to intercept.

Rhea Rose Ramos and Ruby Anne Gallego, who both live with their families in Bucha, a city 25 kilometers northwest of central Kyiv, described Saturday’s attack as a “terrifying and sleepless night”.

“Grabe, ang lakas at sunud-sunod yung pag-atake. Nagsimula ‘yun around noong hatinggabi at halos 30 missiles yung pinakawalan sa loob ng 30 minutes,” Ramos told GMA News over the phone.

(The attacks were loud and continuous. They started around midnight, and nearly 30 missiles were launched in a span of 30 minutes.)

Both Filipinas said they received a mobile notification on Saturday evening, which specified which oblasts (or provinces) were expected to be hit by air strikes.

In a screenshot of the alert provided by Gallego to GMA News, several regions were placed under a red air alert, including those in Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders, as well as the Kyiv metropolitan area and surrounding cities.

The red air alert is still in effect until publishing time.

“Katulad ng kulog at kidlat yung tunog ng strike, at sunud-sunod pa ‘yan. Narinig namin yung explosions kahit nandito kami sa Bucha. Hindi namin ma-imagine yung sitwasyon sa center, kasi mas malakas yung pagsabog doon,” Ramos added.

(The strikes sounded like a thunderclap, and imagine the sound was continuous. We heard the explosions even in Bucha. We couldn’t imagine what the situation in the center was like, given that the explosions were much louder there.)

Gallego said the attacks left them awake for much of the wee hours on Sunday.

“We had a difficult night. Neighborhood namin ang Kyiv kaya grabe ang effect sa amin, walang tulugan. But so far, so good – ok naman kami,” she replied to GMA News’ inquiry about their situation and whereabouts.

(Kyiv is within our neighborhood. The impact of the new attack on us was intense–we didn’t sleep at all. But so far, we’re all good now.)

Efforts after the attacks

When asked about their families’ situations, Ramos and Gallego said they are trying to be well.

“Tuloy pa rin ang buhay (life still has to go on) in Bucha and Kyiv,” Ramos added, as the working week has just started.

The Migrant Workers’ Office (MWO) in the Czech Republic, which covers Filipinos in Ukraine, is currently checking in on the situation of Ramos, Gallego, and others.

Zelenskyy said nearly 100 Ukrainian emergency units have been deployed in Kyiv districts that sustained heavy damage after Saturday’s attack.

“Protection must be strengthened: support for air defense remains a daily priority of Ukraine’s foreign policy work at every level. And pressure on the aggressor – along with accountability for all these strikes – must be ensured,” he said. — BAP, GMA News