Odesa father who lost family in drone strike survives second attack: ‘This time feels different’

When a Shahed drone struck Serhii Haidarzhy’s home in Odesa on Dec. 13, it was the second time in less than two years that a Russian weapon had shattered his life.

The first attack, on March 2, 2024, killed 12 people, including his wife, Anna Haidarzhy, and his four-month-old son, Tymofii. Haidarzhy and his daughter Yelyzaveta – whom he calls Lizi – survived. She is now four years old.

The second attack struck Haidarzhy’s and his daughter’s new home as Russian drones swarmed Odesa on Dec. 13, 2025.

For Haidarzhy, a house and belongings can be rebuilt.

“But life — you can never bring it back. Never. So the difference between then and now is enormous,” he told the Kyiv Independent.

As Russia stepped up its long-range drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, civilian casualties rose by 27% in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

In total, the UN has documented at least 14,383 civilians killed in Ukraine, including 738 children, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Odesa, a Black Sea port in southern Ukraine, has been a frequent target of drone and missile attacks.

The March 2, 2024 attack was one of the most devastating for the city, as 12 people, including five children, were killed on that day.

One of the drones slammed into the Haidarzhy family’s apartment, destroying the room where Haidarzhy’s wife and infant son were sleeping.

“I remember everything that happened the first time. I instantly jumped out of bed and stood up. I understood that I needed to put on shoes – at least socks – because there would be broken glass everywhere,” Haidarzhy said. “The loss was so great that no words could capture the pain.”

The story of the family’s tragedy moved the whole of Ukraine immensely. Approximately 700 people attended the funeral with President Volodymyr Zelensky expected to come, according to the family. However, a Russian missile that hit hundreds of meters away from Zelensky during his visit to Odesa reportedly prevented him from attending.

“Of course it’s hard,” Haidarzy says. “But almost two years have passed now, and I think of them with a smile. I understand that where they are now, they’re in a very good place.” Haidarzhy, a Baptist, adds that he believes his wife and son are with his mother, and he looks forward to the day he meets them all again.

After the 2024 attack, the bereaved family moved into a house lent to them by a member of their local church community. “We did small renovations and had just started settling in,” Haidarzhy said.

When a Russian drone attack hit Haidarzhy’s home the second time, fortunately, there were no casualties.

However, the attack affected the whole of Odesa, plunging the city of nearly one million into darkness. Thousands lost heating, electricity, and water simultaneously. Five days later, some residents still remained without power.

“They said it was the largest attack on Odesa since the beginning of the full-scale invasion — about 150 Shaheds. All night,” he said.

Lizi, who has now gone through the trauma of two strikes on her home, Haidarzhy explains, “is already very grown-up, and understands very well what is happening — what is flying, what a Shahed is.”

When the strike happened this time, he told her everything. “I showed her the burned house, the rooms reduced to ashes, the holes, the broken things, the roof, gone.”

His daughter, Haidarzhy explains, can be reasoned with despite her young age, “If you don’t baby-talk and speak to her straightforwardly, she understands everything.”

When asked if he ever grapples with the feeling of revenge, Haidarzhy turns to his faith: “I don’t have a burning desire for revenge. God will avenge us. And you know, God’s justice is not like human justice. It is much harsher.”