Ukraine midfielder Georgiy Sudakov says his apartment in Kyiv has been left severely damaged after it was struck by a Russian drone while his wife and child were at home.
Sudakov, 23, is currently away on international duty with Ukraine but posted pictures and videos of the aftermath of the attack on his Instagram account.
It was not clear whether Sudokov’s family were hurt in the attack.
“This is what my house looks like after tonight. Arrival of the shaheed [sic]. The wife, child and mother were at home at the time,” Sudakov said in the accompanying post.
A wave of 805 drones and 13 missiles were sent by Russia overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Although the air force said it shot down 751 of these, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed four people were killed and a further 44 injured.
Residents in Kyiv have provided eyewitness accounts of the use of Shahed drones cited by Sudakov in his post.
BBC Verify has located the building housing Sudakov’s apartment to the south east of the Svyatoshyns’kyi district of Kyiv.
Verified videos and photos show the upper storeys of the building severely damaged, blackened and smoking, with sections of walls and windows destroyed.
Debris and rubble is strewn across the street outside and on top of cars parked outside.
Sudakov, who was born in Bryanka in the Donbas region which is currently occupied by Russian forces, joined Portuguese side Benfica from Shakhtar Donetsk in August.
He told BBC Sport in an interview last year that playing as a professional footballer during the war in Ukraine, and frequently being away from his family in Kyiv, was “difficult”.
“It’s psychologically hard when your family is far away and the first thing you see in the morning after waking up is a text from your wife saying that she and your child are hiding in the bathroom,” Sudakov said in February 2024.
“Currently, when the situation in the country is very difficult, all footballers are aware of this. When we play for the national team, we feel responsibility and pride, we want to please the people who support us.”
Ukraine are currently preparing for a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Tuesday, having lost 2-0 to France in their Group D opener on Friday.
