Aid worker says ‘not the time for crying' after surviving Russian missile attack

Independent

06-03-2025

An aid worker from Britain has said 'this is not the moment for crying' after surviving a Russian missile strike in central Ukraine, which left four people dead.
Karol Swiacki, founder of charity Ukraine Relief, from Bournemouth Dorset, shared his disbelief after an air strike in Kryvyi Rih hit the Central Hotel on Wednesday night – his accommodation for the duration of his stay.
The aid worker and his team said they felt lucky they were able to flee their rooms at the hotel before the strike happened.
'I don't how we survived this. It was an incredible and shocking moment for all of us,' Mr Swiacki told the PA news agency.
'If we were in our rooms, we would be dead. It is a huge disaster.'
Four people died in the strike, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Swiacki and his team travelled to Ukraine to distribute generators and supplies to a local school and orphanage, and he said he felt 'broken' after the aid was destroyed by the attack.
The charity founder said he and his team visited the school on Thursday morning to continue aid efforts in Ukraine.
'We went to the school today, we didn't give up,' he said.
'We are not crying. This is not the moment for crying.
'This is the moment for getting things done. If they (the Russians) want to frighten us, put the fear into our minds that we shouldn't be here… but I'm not going to be doing that.
'We need to help Ukraine.'
He praised the people of Ukraine for their bravery and said his experience highlights the daily plight of Ukrainians.
'What brave people and what a country – they are fighting for survival. Day by day these rockets are falling here and killing and injuring people,' he said.
Mr Swiacki hopes that sharing his experience in Kryvyi Rih will remind the public about the ongoing conflict.
'We need to send the message of truth. People need to see what is really happening,' he said.
'We are an example of those who've been under attack and we survived it.
'We need to be ambassadors of this situation and use this to give people an example of what is happening. This is what (the people of) Ukraine are surviving.'
Mr Zelensky said on X that rescue operations in Kryvyi Rih continue.
He said: 'All night, a rescue operation continued in Kryvyi Rih at the site of a Russian missile strike. A ballistic missile struck an ordinary hotel.
'Just before the attack, volunteers from a humanitarian organisation – citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom – had checked into the hotel.
'They survived because they managed to get down from their rooms in time. Unfortunately, four people were killed in this attack. My condolences to their families and loved ones.'
He went on: 'Rescue workers are still on-site, and all emergency services continue to operate.'
Kryvyi Rih is Mr Zelenskyy's home town and has been attacked frequently from Russia, including a missile attack in January that killed four.