A balcony collapsed in Kyiv, an American director was injured: an expert explained how the capital was brought to a communal disaster.

On May 29, 2025, an accident occurred in downtown Kyiv when American director Christopher Walters, who was filming a movie about the war in Ukraine, was injured by a collapsed balcony in the Podil district.

The director was recording video at the scene of the incident, openly expressing his outrage at the state of the infrastructure. 'In the center of the capital, balconies fall like this... A balcony under which people walk to the entrance. While rockets and drones fly, balconies injure us due to someone's irresponsibility!' - Walters wrote, tagging Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko in his post.

Housing expert Oleg Popenko used this situation to criticize the reform of managing apartment buildings. He urged Kyiv residents to find out who is responsible for the technical condition of the building and not to use balconies unnecessarily.

Government's response to the incident

Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Timur Tkachenko stated that the balcony collapse was not the result of a hostile attack, but rather the consequence of citizens' inaction. The authorities decided to take personal control of the situation and conduct inspections of all building facades for their safety, as well as provide assistance to the injured director.

The incident in Kyiv drew attention to the problems of communal infrastructure and building safety in the city. The balcony collapse that injured the American director prompted experts and authorities to intensify measures for inspecting and maintaining buildings in proper condition, as well as to raise awareness of this issue among city residents.