A Russian strike fell near the home of Dnipro Jewish Community director Zelig Brez on Wednesday night, lightly wounding his child.
The windows in the house were shattered in the strike, sources said.
The child is recovering, but the Jewish community and Dnipro’s other residents have been suffering under an unrelenting barrage of Russian drones and missile attacks over the last week.
According to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU), recent weeks have seen Russian forces intensifying their bombardment of major cities and civilian populations, resulting in many casualties.
The Russian strike in Dnipro was the second in a week, damaging Ukrainian Jewish sites. Last Thursday, a drone was intercepted in Zaporizhzhia near the JDC Hesed Michael building, which also houses the Mazal Tov JCC.
The ensuing blast damaged the entrance gate, some windows, and cars. JDC said that while staff, volunteers, and program participants were on site, no one was injured, in large part due to safety protocols.
The Hesed reportedly resumed operations the next day after the damage was cleared, and the in-house trauma center invited people to address mental health issues.
“This episode is a reminder of the tremendous resilience shown by local Jews in Ukraine and their ongoing dedication to caring for one another at this challenging time,” JDC global communications senior director Michael Geller said.
“In the face of bitter cold, blackouts, rising costs, job loss, displacement, and rising vulnerability, they work with us around the clock to ensure the neediest have the care they need and that Jewish life continues. This is a critically needed source of hope at this time and especially important as needs continue to rise across the region.”
Most of Ukraine city's Jews gone since start of war with Russia
Zaporizhzhia rabbi and Chabad emissary Rabbi Nachum Erentroy said in a statement that since the beginning of the war, most of the city’s residents, including its Jewish population, had left.
Of the 5,000 Jewish community members, 1,800 remained, according to the rabbi.
“We have three daily prayer services. The war has led many Jews to return to the community, and we support them with food, encouragement, prayers, and classes,” said Erentroy, who has remained in the city since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It is challenging to be here, but the Rebbe’s emissaries do not abandon the ship.”
FJCU noted in a statement that “Over the past year, there has been a troubling rise in attacks on Jewish religious buildings. We condemn attacks on civilian populations in general and on religious institutions in particular. It is time to stop the deadly fire directed at Ukraine. This time it ended in a miracle, thank God.”
Rabbis from the FJCU met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during Passover to present him with matzah and a chumash in Ukrainian.
The occasion marked the fifth Passover since the Russian invasion. Zelensky reportedly expressed gratitude to the rabbis for remaining in the country despite the danger.
In July, a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Dnipro where Chabad emissary Rabbi Moshe Weber lived. Weber was unscathed, but two other residents were killed.
Two weeks prior, Kherson rabbi Yossef Wolff and his family survived a drone falling in front of his vehicle. Wolff’s synagogue was struck by a missile in October and by a cluster munition two weeks before that incident.