It was scary. And it is still scary.” Zhukovsky is still clearing rubble after a drone attack

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“It was scary. And it is still scary.” In Zhukovsky, rubble is still being cleared after a drone attack that the head of the Moscow region did not notice. An MO author visited the disaster area, where homes were evacuated

Before the war, people went to Zhukovsky for the MAKS air show. Now they come to photograph the aftermath of the June 18 raid — the worst-hit building is on Gagarin Street. Governor Vorobyov, in a post about the attack, mentioned the damaged building only in passing: “the exit to the fire escape and two balcony slabs were damaged.” In reality, the balconies on the top three floors burned out completely and collapsed, an MO correspondent found after visiting the bombed area and mapping the disaster zone.

🔹And these were not the only consequences: cladding also fell from neighboring entrances. The blast wave threw most of the concrete slabs dozens of meters into the middle of a children’s playground. Utility workers cleared the rubble all weekend. Shrapnel shredded the entire courtyard and all cars parked there.

🔹Vorobyov concealed another drone attack on Zhukovsky. A drone with an unexploded munition fell on a stadium on Frunze Street — between three Khrushchev-era apartment blocks and a MAI branch. Residents and employees were evacuated to the House of Culture, just a few meters from where sappers and special services were working (see MO’s map). In the House of Culture, evacuees were not fed, but they were given tea from a samovar, with “not simple cookies” and even sliced lemon.

🔹A police officer warned people of the danger by going apartment to apartment. He did not reach everyone — one apartment’s doorbell was broken. An elderly resident said she even liked that there was no usual warning in such cases: “They didn’t scare anyone with sirens!”

🔹But most local residents we spoke with admit they are afraid. Here are their stories:

👩“I always thought it would never hit our building. But it did — ours!” says 23-year-old Alina from 62 Gagarina Street. “Now I know the sound of a drone — like a lawn mower. It is awful, it is very scary! The only thing calming me is that friends say the same place is never hit twice. And I think that is terrible. Nobody deserved this. Neither Ukraine nor Russia. We are supposed to be brothers. I wish it would all end soon.”

👧“And I cried from fear, yes,” recalls six-year-old Shafa. “I cried and was getting ready to go outside. Adults explain to me that drones fly here because we are not loved. Enemies are attacking Russia. Why we are not loved, I don’t know, they haven’t explained that to me yet.”

👵“Our people are normal, they understand everything. Russia has been attacked since the time of Vladimir the Red Sun. This big land has always attracted enemies. Everyone has always divided our country — Poles, Lithuanians, the French and Churchill. What, is there an opinion that Russia attacked Ukraine? Are you kidding me?!” says 78-year-old Tatyana.

Read the full report on the website

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