On the morning of July 31, 2023, an online meeting began at the State University of Economics and Technology (DUET) in the city of Kryvyi Rih. Colleagues just had time to say hello when a powerful explosion rang out.
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The headmistress of the college was thrown back together with the chair
The first Russian rocket hit the laboratory building of the Polytechnic College. This is a separate structural division of DUET. Its director Natalya Voloshanyuk was also present at the meeting, but in one moment she disappeared from the monitor screens.
"Somewhere at 8.58:XNUMX the first explosion rang out. Mrs. Natalya was thrown back by the explosive wave, and we saw it. She simply disappeared, and then they heard some noise," vice-rector Valentin Orlov told Svoi Dim journalist.
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The second rocket hit a high-rise building. The blast wave damaged buildings and dormitories
Mr. Valentyn was in the training building of the DUET on Liberation Square, 2. There was no air raid, he went outside and saw the second rocket flying. A few seconds later, she hit a high-rise building at 55 Ukrainska Street:
"Actually, all our university buildings are located at a distance of one kilometer from the epicenters of these two missile strikes. Only some buildings are closer to the first explosion, and the dormitories are closer to the second. That is, every building was damaged, but the most destroyed was the college's laboratory building, which was hit by a rocket."
The vice-rector and a group of employees were near the destroyed Polytechnic building 10-15 minutes after the explosion.
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Bricks flew off and sank into the trees
"There was a pile of construction debris in front of us. Imagine that the building was cut in the middle by 10-15 meters and you can see all the walls in the section: corridors, tables with chairs, hanging boards. The force of the impact was such that the brick flew off and sank into the trees. And this rocket did not have this explosive substance, only the force of inertia carried by the rocket. If there was a warhead there, the building would not exist at all. And neighbors too," he said.
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A few minutes before the explosion, an employee who was taking meter readings came out of the building that was hit by the rocket. He managed to reach the stairs of another educational building, located nearby, and was miraculously unhurt. And wounded and frightened colleagues were already leaving, including director Natalya Voloshanyuk.
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"Fortunately, after the explosion, I was thrown back together with the chair. And it was on him that the door fell, and glass fell on top of it. She got a little cut on her face and neck, but it has already healed. It really hurt the cleaner - she has already undergone two operations. Unfortunately, our janitor, who was in the yard of the laboratory building, died," says Natalya.
A small shop operated on the first floor. A young National Guardsman died near her, who stopped by to drink coffee before the meeting.
Now we only consider distance learning
A total of 5 facilities were damaged at the Polytechnic College: the laboratory building (the most destroyed), the workshop building, the main building and two dormitories located across the street.
"At the time of the rocket attack on July 31, in the four-story laboratory building with classrooms, everything was actually ready for the start of the educational process in a mixed format. Now we are considering only distance learning," says vice-rector Valentyn Orlov.
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Is the laboratory building of the college subject to restoration?
"We have prepared all the necessary documents to bring into action. They sent all the documents to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and informed him, as the owner of the property, about the destruction. And the fate of the institution will be decided by the owner, because we are only balance-keepers, - says the vice-rector. — As of August 18, 2023, the laboratory building of the college, in our opinion, cannot be restored. The workshops that were adjacent to it are also not suitable, there are cracks all over the building. The roof of the main building has been destroyed. He was lifted by the blast wave and fell under the force of gravity. The beams themselves were damaged, the slate structure shifted. It's practically open air now, the wind is blowing and it's raining. All the windows flew out, even the metal-plastic ones. At great risk, a small part of the most valuable devices and the archive were taken out of the corner premises. Because these documents are human destinies."
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Two Stalinist-style college dormitories, located across the street from the college, were also damaged. They also have a problem with ceilings and windows. Cracks appeared on the walls, the plaster fell off.
"As of August 16, 2023, there has not yet been an official expert review. Only they will make a conclusion about the further suitability of buildings and dormitories," says Valentin Orlov.
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What about other DUET corps
"The buildings of the most destroyed building of the Polytechnic are located in the central part of Kryvyi Rih and they are compactly located on one plot of land. One of the educational buildings of DUET is adjacent to them. Another of our buildings and a dormitory is located there," says the vice-rector.
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The closest to the epicenter of the explosion was the university building at 64 Poshtovy Avenue. There is actually no roof and the glass flew out. When it rains, everything floods. For now, employees have covered the first floor from looters.
The next in distance is the hostel on Ave. Poshtovoy, 51. The slate slipped on the roof, and the building was cracked. Where there were half-open windows, double-glazed windows bent.
In the building on Vyzvolenya Square, 2, the windows of the old model were blown out, there were also cracks, and the ceiling had holes due to damage to the slate.
A dormitory where IDPs lived was damaged
The dormitory at 18 Petro Kalnyshevsky Street was damaged by the second rocket that hit the building at 55 Ukrainskaya Street. The windows of the 9th floor were completely blown out. No one was hurt there, but displaced persons live in this building.
"We are currently cooperating with the French humanitarian organization ACTED, regarding the modernization of this dormitory for the needs of internally displaced persons," added Valentin Orlov.
The explosive wave also reached dormitory No. 3 on Asiriyskyi Lane, 2, and it was left without windows.
A total of 10 university buildings suffered damage of varying degrees, from broken windows to almost complete destruction, as a result of the rocket fire in Kryvyi Rih.
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DUET together with BO "BF "With you" announces the collection of funds for the restoration of the educational infrastructure of the higher education institution.
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