Eva Reuter, a 25-year-old Ukrainian combat medic, was killed while on leave in Kyiv when a double-tap Iskander strike detonated within 10 metres of her car; colleague Vitalina Yarovenko also died and Joey "Exile" survived. Moscow's intensified campaign now heavily uses fast, jet-powered drones—rising from ~350 in June to ~2,800 in August—straining Kyiv's defences and exacerbating civilian risk. Double- and triple-tap tactics endanger rescuers and have reshaped daily life across the capital.
Combat Medic Killed At Home After Double-Tap Missile Strike In Kyiv
A picture of Eva Reuter hangs in her home. The combat medic had been to 'the worst places you could go' before she was killed in Kyiv while on leave
Beneath shattered glass and twisted metal, two missiles carved a bloody swath through a Kyiv street. A car carrying three people crept forward through a smoke-darkened haze, headlights cutting across the ruined road as the occupants searched for survivors.
The Attack
Rescuers had arrived, as they often do, to help the wounded. They had only seconds' warning and almost no chance of survival when a third Iskander missile descended. The so-called "double-tap" strike detonated less than 10 metres from their vehicle, the road disappearing in a flash before the blast wave struck, shredding the car and everything nearby.
Photographs of Eva and her fiancé Joey. She died in a missile attack
Inside were 25-year-old combat medic and artist Eva Reuter, her fiancé Joey "Exile" (an American serviceman), and their colleague 20-year-old Vitalina Yarovenko. Eva had returned to Kyiv on leave after long service on some of the fiercest front-line sectors. Instead of rest, she was killed less than a mile from her childhood home; Vitalina also died and Joey survived.
"She'd been to the worst places you could go... But she came back here, to where she grew up, and she was killed a mile away from her home," Joey told reporters.
Wider Campaign
As Russian forces seek to break the military deadlock, Moscow has intensified air attacks deep into Ukrainian-held territory, aiming to make cities such as Kyiv feel like front-line targets. Ballistic missiles and a new generation of jet-powered attack drones have repeatedly struck civilian and infrastructure targets across the capital.
Anya Zhyrun, a resident of the Pozniaky neighbourhood of Kyiv, holds her traumatised cat. It was rescued from the rubble of her building
Ukrainian officials report a rapid surge in the use of these fast, jet-powered drones: roughly 350 in June, rising to about 1,600 in July and 2,800 in August. In some assaults they now account for up to 70% of incoming munitions. Kyiv can intercept an estimated 60% of these jet-powered drones, versus up to 95% for older models, while shortages of US-supplied PAC-3 interceptors constrain defence options.
Satellite imagery shows a new launch base built near the Russian village of Tsymbulova to deploy these weapons. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a prototype system recently shot down a jet-powered Shahed for the first time, but stressed more technical refinement and time are needed.
'I was very afraid for my my unborn children,' said Veronika, having survived the Russian attack. The Ukrainian soldier is six months pregnant with twins
Civilian Toll And Tactics
Attacks have struck petrol stations, railway infrastructure, retail and humanitarian warehouses, pharmaceutical distribution hubs, media offices and residential buildings. Examples include strikes on the My-Ukraina broadcaster (injuring journalists) and a warehouse holding props from Zelensky's former studio, Kvartal 95.
The Telegraph visited Pozniaky after a drone hit the 11th and 12th floors of an apartment block, wounding six people. Among survivors was Veronika, a professional soldier six months pregnant with twins, who described chaos as debris and smoke filled her flat and her daughter Michelle momentarily went missing before being found.
Russia has ratcheted up its strikes on Kyiv - Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Tactics such as double-tap and even triple-tap strikes — secondary strikes aimed at rescuers and survivors — have raised the risk for first responders. "Since 2024 the number of double-tap strikes increased," said Anhelina Hrytsei of Truth Hounds, suggesting attackers may be adapting to improved rescuer precautions.
Aftermath
On the night Eva and Vitalina were killed, Joey recalled they debated whether to attempt rescues; Eva insisted, "Someone needs our help." At her funeral, air-raid sirens sounded repeatedly even as mourners said their farewells, underscoring the danger that has come to feel inescapable for residents of Ukraine's capital.
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