Another Mykolaiv resident, Olena Myschanets, said she was fearful for the fate of her older sister, Olga, and her niece, Oksana, who she said lived on the top floor of the same building as Alla, Ruslan and Artem. 

She said they had not returned any of her messages.

“I am praying hard that they are alive,” said Myschanets, 56, choking back tears. She added that all she can do is hope that they could have somehow escaped.

Myschanets said she was not aware of any military sites nearby, adding that the area is a quiet residential neighborhood. Her husband, Valeri, blamed Moscow for the destruction. “Putin and his state are terrorists that must be destroyed,” he said.

Russia has denied targeting civilians, though the wave of aerial attacks it unleashed this week hit civilian areas and critical infrastructure across the country.

Artem’s father returned to the family’s destroyed apartment early Friday, picking up a few items including toothpaste and a couple of frying pans, as others boarded up the building’s shattered windows.

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Ruslan broke down when asked how the family was coping.

“I can’t believe he is gone,” he cried.

Gabe Joselow reported from Mykolaiv, and Yuliya Talmazan reported from London.