Heartbreaking video shows happy Ukrainian family's birthday party before apartment block is blown up by Russians

17 January 2023, 12:37 | Updated: 17 January 2023, 12:40

A tragic video shows a Ukrainian man celebrating his young daughter's birthday at home with his family, before he was killed in a Russian missile that destroyed much of the apartment block.

The video was taken in Dnipro before a block in the the town was hit on Saturday by a Russian strike that has killed at least 40 people, with dozens more thought to be trapped under the rubble.

The clip shows the man, a well-known boxing coach called Mikhal Korenovsky, smiling as one of his daughters blows out candles on her birthday cake. His other daughters look on happily.

The image of their yellow kitchen, visible because the external wall of the flat was blown away, has since gone viral as a poignant scene of domesticity that contrasts with the horror of the deadly Russian strike.

The room remains remarkably intact, with kitchen utensils and a bowl of fruit still sitting neatly in place.

The person who posted the video to TikTok said: "In this kitchen there were celebrations, laughter and the smiles of children.

"Mikhal Mikhalych Korenovsky, a husband, father, coach, and simply a good person, has died."

They added their condolences to Mr Korenovsky's bereaved wife Olga, adding that "the Russians will pay for all this".

The video has also been posted to Telegram by the Ukrainian armed forces. The date when it was filmed is unclear.

Ukrainian MP Zoya Yarosh added her tribute, saying: "Here people cooked, had kitchen conversations, celebrated holidays, laughed, argued."

Some Ukrainians said how the image of the kitchen was typical for people from their country, and reminded them of their childhood.

A Ukrainian woman called Alina said: "When I look at this kitchen all I see is the flat I grew up in, the flat my grandparents lived in, the flat my cousins lived in, because we all had two stools tucked under the kitchen table just like that."

The victims from the strike on the multi-storey residential tower included two children, Ukraine's National Police reported, and 15 children are among the 75 people injured.

The rescue and search operation is ongoing, with 39 people, including six children, having been rescued from the ruins so far, police said. Another 30 people are still missing.

About 1,700 people lived in the apartment building. Residents said there were no military facilities at the site.

Asked about the strike on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military does not target residential buildings and suggested the Dnipro building was hit as a result of Ukrainian air defence actions.

The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it did not have the means to intercept the type of Russian missile used in Saturday's strike.