As drones rain down on Kyiv, a Ukrainian MP spent the day hiding under her stairs

Kira Rudik spent Monday hiding from explosives-laden suicide drone strikes. But the Ukrainian MP is even more worried about the looming threat of nuclear attacks.

Waves of drones struck Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on Monday, setting buildings ablaze and sending people scurrying for cover or trying to shoot them down.

One strike appeared to target the city's heating network, hitting an operations centre. Another slammed into a four-storey residential building, ripping a large hole in it and collapsing at least three apartments on top of each other. Four bodies were recovered, including those of a woman who was six months pregnant and her husband.

Rudik, leader of the Ukrainian political party Holos, lives in Kyiv. Here is part of her conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

We are hearing reports of more strikes in Kyiv right now this evening. Can you tell me what's happening?

I'm talking to you from my home, where most of the day I spent under the stairs along with my family.

The kamikaze drones' attacks in Kyiv continued even after the devastation that happened today in the early morning.

You can hear them very loud because the sound is similar to a motorcycle that is running very quickly. And we have heard those sounds today many times.

Fortunately, our air force protection systems were able to intercept many of the drones. But they continue coming.

This is scary for so many reasons. First of all, because drones are cheaper than the rockets, and Russia can use them specifically [for] targeting civilian buildings — basically homes like mine.

Second, it's creating this sense of terror that you can be basically just living, again, your normal life — and we did believe that we can continue living kind of a normal life after we threw Russians away from Kyiv — and right now, he is telling us: No.

"He" being [Russian President] Vladimir Putin?

Yeah, we only [say] "he" here. Vladimir Putin is the core evil enemy who is trying to kill us just because we exist. We dare to exist here in Kyiv, and this is why he is destroying us.

The devastating thing is that one of the people who died today, who woke up in the morning, but then died, was a woman six months pregnant. And it's just, like, you cannot process this. You're just thinking: Why? Why is it happening?

And many questions are why, in the eighth month of war, [are we] still begging the world for the same thing, for the air force protection systems sophisticated enough so we would not have to die of huge pieces of metal thrown at our homes? 

Because you are completely helpless when this happens. When you are at the front, you at least have weapons and you know your enemy that is coming at you. Here, you're just living your life and then you'll die because somebody sent it to destroy you. And this is so, so, so frustrating.

WATCH l Deadly drone strikes on Kyiv: 

Russia targets Kyiv with self-destructing drone strikes

2 years ago

Duration 5:55

Waves of explosive-laden suicide drones struck Ukraine's capital as families were preparing to start their week, setting buildings ablaze and sending people scurrying to shelters.

I heard you say earlier you feel that there's a difference between now and, say, four days ago — that you feel Vladimir Putin is trying to send a very specific message at this specific moment. What is he trying to say, or do?

He is saying that we will have a very cold and also very dark winter. And the main difference between today and, like, five days ago is that five days ago we had our energy infrastructure pretty much in place, because we were trying so hard ... to save it, because we knew that it could be attacked by Putin. And right now, around 30 per cent of Ukrainian energy infrastructure is destroyed. Right now, when we are talking with you, more than 1,000 Ukrainian cities and villages are experiencing electricity outages. 

We don't have the capability to rebuild it fast. And he — Putin — continues attacking it over and over.

We, right now, received the promises from [U.S.] President [Joe] Biden and from European partners on finally getting us some sophisticated air force protection systems that will improve the situation. But why do we have to die, and why does it have to be just more and more destruction for these decisions to be made? 

It's not news that we do need these systems in place. And we have been begging for that for the last eight months. And if we had received them five days ago, then probably we wouldn't have like 30 per cent of the infrastructure destroyed. 

You spoke a moment ago, Ms. Rudik, of the Western allies being reactive instead of proactive. And I'm wondering what you're worried about most, about what lies ahead in the next few days?

Honestly, I'm worried about a nuclear attack. And we know that Putin threatened a couple of times … that it may happen. And we are taking it very seriously here. And I can tell you under my stairs, we have a couple of backpacks for myself and my family [in case] this happens.

All the leaders of the free world are saying [to Putin]: Oh, if you would attack, then the consequences will be terrifying. Well, I can tell you for whom the consequences will be terrifying. First of all, for us, because we may not survive this.

So the question is ... how to make sure that nuclear attack would not happen? 

Our solution is that if we had the sophisticated air force protection systems, it will increase our chances of intercepting a missile that will be carrying a nuclear bomb. However, we also understand that it will not be 100 per cent. 

But the threat is real. And I think what we are lacking right now is a strong leadership saying, OK: This is what we are going to do to make sure that he would not resort to nuclear [attacks].

But also on how we are not giving up on Ukrainian territories. Because these threats [are] a way of him, of Putin, to try and persuade us to have negotiations with him.

With files from The Associated Press. Interview produced by Kate Swoger. Q&A edited for length and clarity.