Radio Liberty war reporter Maryan Kushnir found himself just a few metres away from the site of a Russian drone strike while working in Kyiv. The drone exploded near a Dobrobut hospital as the journalist was heading back to the office after filming the aftermath of the attack on the National Science Academy building. Kushnir managed to take cover in a depression in the ground and was not seriously injured, he reported in a Facebook post.
The journalist said that he had been tracking the movement of Russian drones across the city on his way back to the newsroom. As he passed the Dobrobut hospital, Kushnir heard a drone descending. He managed to duck into a depression in the ground, covering his head with his hands, before it exploded.
“The explosion was essentially in my face. Just before, I had seen the drone move towards the centre… There’s debris scattered all over the streets in central Kyiv. I was running on adrenaline myself… And I actually started filming…,” the journalist said.
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After the explosion, Kushnir immediately ran towards the site of the strike, but the people had already started evacuating from the hospital building. The media professional was not seriously injured in the attack.
“By the way, if I’d wanted to try and run for cover somewhere near the bus stop and just try to survive — I had less than 2 seconds — I wouldn’t have had a chance; there are no bomb shelters downtown,” Maryan Kushnir said.
Maryan Kushnir rescued a child aged 4 during the Russian strike in the Bucha district of Kyiv oblast on 28 January 2026. The strike had resulted in a fire breaking out in a high-rise building. The child’s mother was killed. The child was later picked up by the father. Maryan Kushnir was awarded by Kyiv Oblast Military Administration chair Mykola Kalashnyk later that month for saving the child.
In August 2026, Kushnir witnessed a traffic accident in Kyiv and administered first aid to a biker injured in the incident.
