Families from the Simcha Jewish community spent the night in shelters after returning from a JRNU respite camp in the mountains.
Jewish families in Kyiv returned from nine days of quiet in the Carpathian Mountains directly into shelters overnight into Thursday, as Russia launched one of its heaviest drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital in months.
The families, members of Kyiv’s Simcha Jewish community, had taken part in a respite camp organized by the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU), a Chabad-affiliated humanitarian network that has provided food, medicine, shelter, and emergency support to Jews across Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
They arrived back in Kyiv just as the city entered a long night of explosions, air-raid sirens, and emergency restrictions. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, with Kyiv the main target of the strike.
At least 20 people were killed, and more than 90 were wounded, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Russia launches wave of drone and missile attacks, Jewish community impacted
“The whole city shook violently,” Rabbi Simcha Levenharts, a Chabad emissary in Kyiv, said Thursday morning. “The explosions did not stop for a moment, and it was simply impossible to close your eyes.”
The assault sent residents of Kyiv rushing into shelters and underground metro stations as explosions echoed across the capital. According to the Jewish community, gas stations in the city were closed in advance amid fears of direct hits, and many residents left their homes to seek cover below ground.
For dozens of Jewish families, the timing made the night especially jarring. Only a day earlier, they had returned from the Carpathians, where the JRNU camp was intended to give parents and children a brief break from the strain of wartime life in Kyiv.
Instead, they found themselves back in the reality they had briefly escaped. Some of the families spent the night crowded inside the underground shelter of the Simcha community building, where the community has maintained emergency infrastructure throughout the war.
The Simcha community is led by Rabbi Mordechai Levenharts, a longtime Chabad emissary in Kyiv. The community includes a synagogue, school, and social-support network that have continued operating despite repeated missile and drone attacks on the city.
Despite the sleepless night, Jewish life resumed early Thursday morning. Community members gathered in Kyiv synagogues for Shacharit prayers marking the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, a Jewish fast day commemorating the breach of Jerusalem’s walls before the destruction of the Second Temple.
Hundreds of Jews attended morning prayers in the capital, community members said, arriving exhausted but determined to maintain routine under fire.
Jewish humanitarian work resumes after missile attack
JRNU’s humanitarian operation also resumed Thursday morning. Hot meals were distributed at Jewish community centers, while volunteers delivered food to elderly residents, the sick, and homebound Jews who could not safely leave their apartments while the city remained under threat.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared Friday a day of mourning following the attack, which damaged buildings across the city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was the main target of the overnight strike and renewed his call for additional air-defense systems, including Patriot batteries.
Russia said the attack targeted military and energy facilities and claimed it was retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets. Ukrainian officials said residential areas were hit across the capital.
For Kyiv’s Jewish community, the attack underscored the fragile rhythm of wartime life: a few days of calm in the mountains, followed almost immediately by a night in shelters.
“The children had just come back from a place of quiet,” one community member said. “Then they were back underground, listening to explosions.”
