Odessa Drone Attacks February 2025 - Longest Night: Dreams of Peace Amid Chaos

Have you heard what happened on the night of February 24-25 in Ukraine? It was one of the worst attacks yet. Russia launched 213 strike UAVs—Shahed drones swarming the skies—along with other unmanned simulators and cruise missiles. It felt endless. The night was filled with the roar of air raid sirens, the distant thuds of explosions, and the sharp crack of air defenses trying to stop them.

I lay in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, knowing sleep was impossible. The drone of the engines above made my walls feel paper-thin, as if at any moment, Odessa itself could be torn apart. Every vibration, every sound, made my heart pound harder. By morning, we learned the damage—buildings in flames, homes shattered, lives forever altered.

I’ve often dreamed of living in a place where there is only peace and kindness. Somewhere without sirens, without destruction, where children don’t wake up crying from nightmares that are real. But that dream feels far away now. Odessa endures, just as we always do. But for how long? And at what cost?

We keep going, because we must. But deep down, we are all still longing for the day when war is just a distant memory.

Firefighters and emergency responders work amidst heavy smoke and debris after a Russian drone attack caused severe damage in Kyiv, February 2025.