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Life in Ukraine

What’s Left After Russia Bombed a Children’s Playground in Kryvyi Rih, Told in Photos

4 min read
Authors
Josh Olley
Josh Olley
Photographer
Russia Bombed a Children’s Playground in Kryvyi Rih
Mourners gather at the funeral of two teenagers, Alina Kutsenko and Danylo Nikitskyi, both 15, at a church in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. (Photo: VLADYSLAV MUSIIENKO via Getty Images)

Russia’s missile strike near a playground in Kryvyi Rih killed nine children. These photos show the devastating aftermath.

On April 4, 2025, a Russian Iskander missile armed with cluster munitions struck a residential neighborhood in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Russian attack killed at least 20 people, including nine children, and injured over 70 more. These photos from the scene capture the human cost of Russia’s war—destroyed homes, grieving families, and a playground turned memorial.

APRIL 6, 2025: A view through a destroyed apartment after a Russian ballistic missile struck near a playground in a residential neighborhood of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 4. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 6, 2025: A view through a destroyed apartment after a Russian ballistic missile struck near a playground in a residential neighborhood of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 4. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 6, 2025: A woman cries while petting a stuffed animal left at the playground where children were killed by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 4. Local residents from across the city brought flowers, toys, and sweets to the site. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 6, 2025: A woman cries while petting a stuffed animal left at the playground where children were killed by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 4. Local residents from across the city brought flowers, toys, and sweets to the site. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 9, 2025: Parents hold a portrait of their son, killed in the Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, during a memorial at the playground where he died. The gathering marked a visit by 32 foreign diplomatic representatives to the site of the April 4 attack. (Photo: Eduard Kryzhanivskyi via Getty Images)
APRIL 9, 2025: Parents hold a portrait of their son, killed in the Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, during a memorial at the playground where he died. The gathering marked a visit by 32 foreign diplomatic representatives to the site of the April 4 attack. (Photo: Eduard Kryzhanivskyi via Getty Images)
APRIL 9, 2025: Foreign diplomats gather at a makeshift memorial on a playground in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, to honor the victims of Russia’s missile strike. (Photo: Eduard Kryzhanivsky via Getty Images)
APRIL 9, 2025: Foreign diplomats gather at a makeshift memorial on a playground in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, to honor the victims of Russia’s missile strike. (Photo: Eduard Kryzhanivsky via Getty Images)
APRIL 7, 2025: Families and friends mourn during the funeral of 15-year-olds Danylo Nikitskyi and Alina Kutsenko, young Ukrainians killed by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 7, 2025: Families and friends mourn during the funeral of 15-year-olds Danylo Nikitskyi and Alina Kutsenko, young Ukrainians killed by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. (Photo: Oksana Parafeniuk via Getty Images)
APRIL 7, 2025: Mourners gather at the funeral of two teenagers, Alina Kutsenko and Danylo Nikitskyi, both 15, at a church in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. (Photo: VLADYSLAV MUSIIENKO via Getty Images)
APRIL 7, 2025: Mourners gather at the funeral of two teenagers, Alina Kutsenko and Danylo Nikitskyi, both 15, at a church in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. (Photo: VLADYSLAV MUSIIENKO via Getty Images)

Kryvyi Rih was not the only place hit. As Russia intensifies its attacks, civilians across Ukraine continue to suffer. From front-line cities like Kupiansk to strikes in Dnipro, Sumy, and the capital Kyiv, the war rages on. These photos from across the country document the ongoing impact of Russia’s aggression—and Ukraine’s unbroken spirit.

KUPIANSK, APRIL 06, 2025: A destroyed home in Kupiansk, Ukraine, after a Russian attack. While Ukraine’s forces advanced near the city, Russian troops escalated assaults along three other key fronts—Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and the border with Russia’s Kursk region, according to the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. (Photo: Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
KUPIANSK, APRIL 06, 2025: A destroyed home in Kupiansk, Ukraine, after a Russian attack. While Ukraine’s forces advanced near the city, Russian troops escalated assaults along three other key fronts—Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and the border with Russia’s Kursk region, according to the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. (Photo: Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
KUPIANSK, APRIL 06, 2025: Rubble from a residential building in Kupiansk, Ukraine, after a Russian strike. The attack came amid renewed fighting across eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces launched coordinated assaults on multiple fronts. (Photo: Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
KUPIANSK, APRIL 06, 2025: Rubble from a residential building in Kupiansk, Ukraine, after a Russian strike. The attack came amid renewed fighting across eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces launched coordinated assaults on multiple fronts. (Photo: Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
KYIV, APRIL 6, 2025: A man holds a sign reading “Captivity kills. Don’t keep silence” during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine. The protest was part of a nationwide movement to demand the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including members of the Azov Brigade, who have been held by Russia since 2022. (Photo: Danylo Antoniuk via Getty Images)
KYIV, APRIL 6, 2025: A man holds a sign reading “Captivity kills. Don’t keep silence” during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine. The protest was part of a nationwide movement to demand the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including members of the Azov Brigade, who have been held by Russia since 2022. (Photo: Danylo Antoniuk via Getty Images)
KYIV, APRIL 6, 2025: Smoke rises in the distance as people walk through a flea market in Kyiv, Ukraine, following a Russian missile attack on the capital. (Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY via Getty Images)
KYIV, APRIL 6, 2025: Smoke rises in the distance as people walk through a flea market in Kyiv, Ukraine, following a Russian missile attack on the capital. (Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY via Getty Images)
KYIV, MARCH 23, 2025: The aftermath of a Russian Shahed drone strike that hit the roof of an apartment building in Kyiv, piercing the ceiling of 80-year-old Ludmyla Zarutska’s home. Ludmyla survived the initial impact—she had been sleeping in another room when the drone tore through her apartment. The blast shattered the concrete walls and jammed her door shut. She screamed for help through an open window as neighbors tried desperately to reach her, but they couldn’t break through. By the time rescue workers forced the door open, it was too late. Only a package of old photographs survived the fire. That’s what her son received when he arrived at the scene. (Photo: Anton Shtuka)
KYIV, MARCH 23, 2025: The aftermath of a Russian Shahed drone strike that hit the roof of an apartment building in Kyiv, piercing the ceiling of 80-year-old Ludmyla Zarutska’s home. Ludmyla survived the initial impact—she had been sleeping in another room when the drone tore through her apartment. The blast shattered the concrete walls and jammed her door shut. She screamed for help through an open window as neighbors tried desperately to reach her, but they couldn’t break through. By the time rescue workers forced the door open, it was too late. Only a package of old photographs survived the fire. That’s what her son received when he arrived at the scene. (Photo: Anton Shtuka)
SUMY, APRIL 3, 2025: Mourners watch as the coffin of Volodymyr Butenko is lowered into the ground during his funeral in Sumy, Ukraine. Butenko was killed in a Russian missile strike, part of a broader offensive pushing into the Sumy region from Russia’s Kursk region’s border. The assault has forced mass evacuations from frontline villages. (Photo: Ed Ram via Getty Images)
SUMY, APRIL 3, 2025: Mourners watch as the coffin of Volodymyr Butenko is lowered into the ground during his funeral in Sumy, Ukraine. Butenko was killed in a Russian missile strike, part of a broader offensive pushing into the Sumy region from Russia’s Kursk region’s border. The assault has forced mass evacuations from frontline villages. (Photo: Ed Ram via Getty Images)
DONETSK REGION, APRIL 8, 2025: A Chinese citizen captured while fighting for Russia is seen in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Source: Ukraine’s Security Service)
DONETSK REGION, APRIL 8, 2025: A Chinese citizen captured while fighting for Russia is seen in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Source: Ukraine’s Security Service)
DNIPRO, APRIL 9, 2025: Cars burn following a Russian attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, on April 9, 2025. (Source: Ukrainian Emergency Service)
DNIPRO, APRIL 9, 2025: Cars burn following a Russian attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, on April 9, 2025. (Source: Ukrainian Emergency Service)
KYIV, MARCH 25, 2025: Mourners hold smoke flares as Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffin of Oleksandr Oliinyk, a Hospitaller and Ukrainian serviceman known by the callsign “Bohush,” during his funeral in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo: TETIANA DZHAFAROVA  via Getty Images)
KYIV, MARCH 25, 2025: Mourners hold smoke flares as Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffin of Oleksandr Oliinyk, a Hospitaller and Ukrainian serviceman known by the callsign “Bohush,” during his funeral in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo: TETIANA DZHAFAROVA  via Getty Images)
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