KYIV, Ukraine — Fred Grandy, an American artist who made whimsical wooden signs and colorful metal flowers, came to Kyiv because he was devastated that the United States seemed to be turning its back on the war in Ukraine.

He arrived in the Ukrainian capital in late May, close to his 62nd birthday, and volunteered to clean up the rubble left by Russian attacks, family members said.

“He was a person who wanted to make a difference so badly,” said his sister Sietska Reed, 75, who lives near Bend, Oregon. “I talked to him about five days ago, and he told me that he felt he was right where he should be. And he was hoping he could stay for five or six months more and help.”

Instead, Grandy was one of at least 28 people killed in a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv that started Monday night and stretched into Tuesday, hitting neighborhoods across the Ukrainian capital. The nine-hour onslaught was one of the largest such attacks of the war.

Russian air assaults have intensified in recent weeks, dimming already faint hopes for a ceasefire.

— The New York Times