KYIV — A Russian cruise missile flattened an apartment building in Kyiv on Thursday, killing 24 people including 24-year-old English teacher Maryna Homeniuk and her partner, 30-year-old Yurii Orlov. Ukrainian military officials described the wave of airstrikes as the biggest barrage of the war.

Friends and family paid final respects to Homeniuk on Saturday. Orlov's body was not ready for burial that day.

Homeniuk fled Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago and completed her degree in the Czech Republic, where she studied Vietnamese. She returned to Ukraine in 2023 and met Orlov on a dating app. Homeniuk spoke about 10 languages, including fluent Korean and Chinese, took in abandoned animals and saved money for trips to new countries.

Orlov captained the Kyiv Floorball Club and played hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital. He taught Homeniuk how to play floorball, a version of floor hockey, and she taught him how to speak English. She attended every one of his Sunday games.

The couple had discussed wanting to relocate from Darnytsia in Kyiv's left bank because power cuts were restored there later than in other parts of the city, but they could not afford to do so. Russian attacks on Kyiv continued through the winter before their deaths.

"She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer," Olesia Yukhnovych said at the funeral.

"It's a shame. I should have been helping prepare for the wedding and I ended up helping prepare for the funeral," Yukhnovych said.

"This is a young person. This is a girl who had absolutely the whole future ahead of her," Anastasiia Petrushyna said.