UK volunteer after surviving Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih — 'Trump, Vance, come see Ukraine for yourselves’
A team of foreign volunteers had just finished dinner at a cozy hotel restaurant in Kryvyi Rih—a city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast where they had recently arrived to provide humanitarian aid—when an urgent notification shattered the calm.
A Russian ballistic missile was heading straight for the city.
"We decided to go to the shelter, but we didn’t have enough time," recalled British volunteer Karol Swiacki in an interview with the Kyiv Independent.
"We barely stood up and took a few steps before there was a massive impact—a deafening explosion. Then, dust everywhere. So much dust that we couldn’t breathe or see anything."
The missile struck around 10 p.m. on March 5, delivering a devastating blast that severely damaged the five-story hotel.
Five people were killed, and 32 others were injured, including two children, aged 13 and 17, according to Governor Serhii Lysak. Beyond the hotel, the attack also damaged 14 apartment buildings, a post office, nearly two dozen cars, a cultural center, and 12 shops.
"We saw the destruction—not just the hotel, but everything around it was on fire," Swiacki recounted. "People were screaming. There were bodies on the ground, people covered in blood."
"People died in front of us. It was a nightmare. We were in hell."
Located about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from the front lines, Kryvyi Rih has been a frequent target of Russian missile strikes. Home to roughly 660,000 residents, it is also the birthplace of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"After the explosion, we tried to escape through the shattered windows," Swiacki said.
Just before the attack, volunteers from a humanitarian organization—including citizens of Ukraine, the U.S., and the U.K.—had checked into the hotel. President Zelensky later confirmed that they survived because they had managed to flee their rooms in time.
Swiacki, who leads the U.K.-based NGO Ukraine Relief, said all eight members of his team were lucky to escape unscathed.
"If we had been in our rooms when the missile hit, we wouldn’t have survived," he admitted. "Everything was destroyed. It was absolute devastation."
A Polish native, Swiacki left his career in entertainment shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion to launch his nonprofit.
"I remember my grandmother’s stories about what the Russians did in Poland, so I understand what this means," he said. "This war has nothing to do with peace. Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, take it over, and crush the nation. It’s an absolute disgrace."
Since February 24, 2022, Swiacki and his team have delivered over five tons of humanitarian aid across Ukraine, including power generators, medical beds, wheelchairs, and other essential supplies. On this trip to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, they had brought sports equipment and other items to support children affected by the war.
The Kryvyi Rih missile strike also destroyed three of their vehicles parked outside the hotel.
Despite the setback, Swiacki and his team salvaged what they could from the wreckage and vowed to continue their mission.
"Many people would say we should stop, but no—it works the other way around," he said. "We will never stop. We are stronger than ever."
The attack came amid the Trump administration’s decision to freeze military aid to Ukraine and limit intelligence-sharing, affecting the country’s ability to detect and counter incoming Russian drones and missiles. Swiacki urged U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to witness the war firsthand.
"Come to Ukraine and see it for yourselves," he implored. "People are dying here."
Just two days later, on March 7, Russia unleashed a massive aerial assault, launching at least 67 missiles and 194 attack and decoy drones targeting Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure.
"We need air defense across all of Ukraine to stop these massacres," Swiacki said. "No one can defend against these missiles without it."
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