Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics After Russian missile strike, owners of Ukrainian coffee shop pledge to rebuild After a large-scale Russian missile strike hit downtown Kyiv, the owners of a coffee shop that opened just hours earlier were already serving coffee again and planning to rebuild. World After Russian missile strike, owners of Ukrainian coffee shop pledge to rebuild June 1, 20264:47 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Hanna Palamarenko After Russian missile strike, owners of Ukrainian coffee shop pledge to rebuild Listen · 2:49 2:49 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5838859/nx-s1-9792225" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript After a large-scale Russian missile strike hit downtown Kyiv, the owners of a coffee shop that opened just hours earlier were already serving coffee again and planning to rebuild. Sponsor Message
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Downtown Kyiv is rebuilding after Russian missile attacks last week. The strike destroyed dozens of homes, schools and businesses in the center of Ukraine's capital. New owners of a cafe, who had just opened their doors a few hours earlier, found themselves sifting through wreckage. Here's NPR's Hanna Palamarenko.
HANNA PALAMARENKO, BYLINE: The morning after the strike in Kyiv, the city center is filled with the sounds of cleanup - glass being swept, rubble hauled away, windows boarded up. The state emergency service is clearing debris from the destroyed Chernobyl Museum. The day before, this place sounded completely different.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Star shining (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Whoo.
(APPLAUSE)
PALAMARENKO: Next door to the Chernobyl Museum, husband and wife Yevhen Prusak and Olena Saienko were opening their own coffee shop, Hogo. They cut the red ribbon.
YEVHEN PRUSAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "There were flowers on the street. A DJ was playing. It was beautiful, fun and energetic," Prusak recalls. After a busy opening day, the couple went home, tired but elated.
PRUSAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "I woke up to the whistling sound of a missile, says Prusak." The coffee shop's alarm had gone off, and the couple immediately drove to the scene without waiting for the all-clear.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE ALARM)
PALAMARENKO: Saienko filmed the damage, unable to hold back her sobs.
OLENA SAIENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "The windows, the refrigerators, everything here was smashed," says Saienko. As another wave of attacks hit the city, the couple took shelter. By early morning, Prusak was back at the coffee shop, picking through the damage.
PRUSAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "I checked the equipment, the coffee machine and the grinder. They were working, so I started making coffee. I just gave it a try," says Prusak. The couple decided to launch a fundraising campaign to rebuild the cafe. Prusak says the support reflects coffee's role in Ukrainian culture, which is much more than just a morning routine.
PRUSAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "We don't just serve customers. We offer hospitality," says Prusak. He adds that shared experience of the aftermath have brought local business owners closer together.
PRUSAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
PALAMARENKO: "I've stopped drinking coffee at my place," says Prusak. He now goes across the street for coffee as they share updates and advice on rebuilding. As crews clear rubble from the neighboring Chernobyl Museum, Saienko and Prusak serve coffee and treats at the cafe's few remaining tables and chairs, waiting for an assessment of the damage. Like the rest of Ukraine, they see only one option - rebuild and carry on.
Hanna Palamarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();