Ukrainian mother speaks out after surviving Chernihiv bombing
Yulia Zhdanova, a mother of two, describes her life since the Russian invasion began and recalls seeing bodies on the ground after the house next to hers was bombed.
Yulia Zhdanova, a mother of two, survived a Russian bombing of her hometown. She captured video of the explosion in Chernihiv that ultimately killed 47 people.
Russian forces destroyed a residential apartment building next door to Zhdanova’s home. Her family is now trying to find safety.
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She recalled the day of the explosion as being very difficult. On "Fox & Friends" Thursday, she said everyone was exhausted from hearing warning alerts every 20 minutes or so.
"People had to run into the shelter all the time – into the basement," Zhdanova told host Ainsley Earhardt.
"We slept in our clothes, and we didn’t have enough to eat."
Aleksander, 41, presses his palms against the window as he says goodbye to his daughter Anna, 5, on a train to Lviv at the Kyiv station, Ukraine, Friday, March 4. 2022. Aleksander has to stay behind to fight in the war while his family leaves the country to seek refuge in a neighboring country. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (AP)
Zhdanova said in the moments leading up to the explosion she received an alert that her family needed to go to the shelter.
"But it was so peaceful and quiet that we just relaxed, and we stayed at home because we were so exhausted," she said. "It was difficult to run every time into the basement."
She then received another message to stay on alert and directed her family to hide.
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"In a minute, we heard a very, very loud explosion, and we fell on the floor and the glass from the windows broke."
She said her family grabbed their bags and ran outside. She found the house next to hers was on fire.
"Bodies were lying on the ground."
Zhdanova recalled a horrifying scene in the aftermath of the bombing. She saw body parts and described hearing "inhuman" sounds from the injured.
Her relatives in a nearby house also survived the bombing, but their home was destroyed.
"A lot of people died. A lot of blood was everywhere," she said.
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Zhdanova said Russia is lying about the ongoing crisis.
"The Russians say that it is a special military program, but it’s not. It’s a real, awful, horrible war," she said. "There are no military objects there. … There are only houses."
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"They just bomb hospitals. They bomb schools, nursery schools, houses, and they just don’t care."
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