LEILA FADEL, HOST:
On the last night of July, Veronika Osintseva went to bed in her Kyiv apartment. The 23-year-old woke up in a pile of rubble. She didn't understand what had happened, that she'd survived a missile strike on her building, that she was thrown out of her ninth-story apartment. She would later find out that 32 people were killed in that strike, including her parents. It was the deadliest attack on the capital since Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine started 3 1/2 years ago. I spoke to her as she lay in a hospital bed in Kyiv.
VERONIKA OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) So I feel well. And my loved ones are the ones who give me strength. I'm actually in preparation for another surgery, maybe two. Well, actually, maybe three.
FADEL: Oh, my gosh. Take me back to that night. Just walk me through what happened to you.
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) So at first, I heard the loud noise. And then I woke up in the rubble and I felt the pain. And at first, I couldn't believe what actually happened to me. So I started shouting, and the man heard me. His name was Slava (ph). And he carried me out in his hands, out of the rubble. Then I was taken to the hospital. And while I was being carried there, I didn't know what was going to be next for me. I only had a pack of cigarettes with me and a blanket. I didn't know how to live from then on, and I actually still cannot believe that I survived. I'm recalling the images and it's just unreal.
FADEL: Veronika, I know that you did lose your parents in that same attack. They'd been sleeping in another room. And I'm very sorry for your loss. If you could, tell me when you understood that you survived but they didn't, and many other people in that building didn't.
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) So I actually found out that they didn't survive even before I was told so because I just stopped feeling their presence. And when I was told that they're gone, I thought it was just impossible to survive there. I don't know how I survived.
FADEL: The fact that you did survive, it's captured the country's attention. It's captured the world's attention. Why do you think what happened to you has made so many people stand up and pay attention?
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) Maybe I have become a kind of symbol of hope, an inspiration for others that it's possible to survive in such difficult circumstances. And maybe they feel that. And I'm ready to live on and be happy and to fight for happiness.
FADEL: Tell me about your injuries, the treatment you've already received. You said you're going to have three more surgeries. Who's with you? Your parents aren't with you anymore. I mean, who's supporting you and helping you?
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) All of my friends are with me. And all of the friends of my parents and all of Ukraine are with me. And so I'm not alone. I'm with people. I have a closed fracture of my left leg, with the displacement. And actually, my tooth chipped a little bit. And there's some bruises on my body, and that's it.
FADEL: And when you heal and you're out of the hospital, what happens next for you?
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) I'm going to be building my life in reality around me and the ones who are close to me so it will be comfortable for me and safe.
FADEL: Is your home gone?
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) Yes, completely. There's absolutely nothing left.
FADEL: Osintseva and I spoke as her president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was in the United States meeting with President Trump alongside a number of other European leaders. So I asked her if she had a message for the politicians who are negotiating. She told me that in the days before the attack that stole her parents and her home, she'd written a speech to be delivered at a rally in Kyiv. It's a speech she never got to deliver because of the attack, so she read it to me instead.
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) How do we reach out to those who value money more than life? How do we reach out to those who make money from wars and on destroyed fates? How do we finally shout out and reach out to those who started the wars? The creatures who are unable to control their own moral compass should be put behind bars or leave all possible positions of power that give them power over people's lives and the wellbeing of the people. And they should not be allowed to return.
FADEL: I also asked her if she paid attention to the meeting between Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, the man ultimately responsible for her injuries and her parents' death.
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) No. I don't read the news these days. And it actually makes me nauseous.
FADEL: How do you feel as a Ukrainian seeing that meeting and what it might mean for your future?
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) Honestly, I don't care. I just want it all to stop. I want people to stop killing. I want people to start building their own happiness. I don't care how it's going to happen, the ending of the war. But it could be the appeal of this girl who fell out of the ninth floor and survived. To the world leaders, please, stop it. We just want to live and to build our own happiness. We want to build our own lives as we want in security.
FADEL: Veronika, thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm sure your parents would be incredibly proud of how you're using your platform and your words since this happened.
OSINTSEVA: (Through interpreter) Yes. They listened to this, and now the world will be the one to listen.
FADEL: As we say goodbye, she has a question.
OSINTSEVA: (Non-English language spoken).
FADEL: "Will you allow me to sing an alternative anthem for Ukraine?" she asks me. Now, it's not the official anthem. But the lyrics of the "Anthem Of The Children Of Ukraine," by Little Blues, resonate with her.
OSINTSEVA: (Singing in non-English language).
FADEL: Ukraine is prosperous. It's glory and freedom.
OSINTSEVA: (Singing in non-English language). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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