On the morning of 25 March this year, the Macoca Cafe in Kyiv opened for its daily breakfast rush, brewing fresh coffee for a regular stream of customers. “We were going about our usual business, but Russia had other plans,” recalls Karina Gromova, the cafe’s co-owner, who started the business with her partner Andriy Petrie.
A Russian missile, which had slipped past the Ukrainian capital’s defence systems, had landed in Macoca’s otherwise quiet neighbourhood. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, missiles frequently target cities including Kyiv. In one of the most recent attacks in July this year, a children’s hospital in Kyiv was bombed as part of an aerial assault across the country that killed at least 43 people and injured dozens more.
There were no fatalities or major injuries caused by the attack on Macoca, but the damage to the cafe was immense. The force of the explosion shattered the cafe’s windows, sending shards of glass and splinter across the small space. A life-sized mannequin shielded the cafe’s barista from much of the flying debris, allowing her time to duck for safety. Gromova was at home when the explosion hit, but rushed to the site once she heard – and the sight that awaited her sank her heart.
“The building across the street was completely ruined. In the cafe, there was glass everywhere, the doors and windows had fallen off the hinges,” she told Service95, trying to recall memories that she has since attempted to block out.
“I don’t remember much about that moment, or what I said, or how I got here, but I remember seeing Andriy and he said that everyone had survived. And then I could breathe,” she said. “That was the most important thing for me. I hugged them all, and for everything else, I knew we could fix it.”
It’s not easy running a small business in a country at war, where missile attacks remain a real threat every day.
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