Funeral of three siblings killed in Russian strike highlights the losses of Ukrainian families
Korostyshiv of Ukraine (AP) – Three coffins – one adult-sized, one medium-sized and one child-sized – lie Wednesday in the Soviet-era Soviet Cultural Palace, surrounded by dozens of bouquets of flowers to celebrate prayers.
Hundreds of residents were in a grim silence. Crying quietly. The others were completely broken.
The funeral was for Tamara, 8, Stanislav, 12, and Roman Martyniuk, 17, – brothers and sisters from the same family.
They were killed on the weekend when debris from Russian cruise missiles hit their home in Korostshev, an aerial barrage in the city of 24,000 residents about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Kiev. It attacked at 3 a.m. when they slept in bed.
“I saw the destruction, the destruction of great destruction. All the houses were razed and broken,” said Volodymyr Demchenko, a 77-year-old neighbor, recalling the night when the missile landed 500 meters (yards) from his home.
As Moscow has exacerbated the increasing number of Ukrainian families amid its staggering peace efforts, the death of children underscores the increasing number of Ukrainian families. This is one of several recent tragedies of deaths of children and adolescents, revealing grim patterns as people hope that the ceasefire fade and Russian attacks continue to target civilians. “These three kids are very smart, polite, the smartest, the best students, ready to help and always be ready to support others,” said Yuliia Skok, 22, a sibling teacher.
Moscow denies targeting civilians, but a lot of evidence shows.
The child’s father was still injured and he was released from the hospital for funeral. He sat next to the coffin with his two surviving children – a scene that became heartbreaking throughout the war in the fourth grade. Their mother was hospitalized.
At least 209 civilians were killed in April and 1,146 were injured, the deadliest civilian month since September 2024, according to the UN Human Rights Office. 23% higher than March fees and 84% higher than April 2024.
Among the victims, at least 19 children were present, while another 78 injured were injured, exceeding the total in the first four months. This is the highest monthly verification number since June 2022.
The deadliest strike against children since the invasion began occurred on April 4 in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A ballistic missile exploded in parks, playgrounds and restaurants, spreading thousands of metal debris, killing 20 civilians, including seven boys and two girls, and injuring 63 people, the United Nations said.
Nearly half of civilian casualties in April were caused by missile attacks, many involving powerful explosive weapons targeting densely populated urban areas such as Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv and Kharkiv. In some cases, Russian troops used broken warheads that detonated in the air, spreading shrapnel across wide areas.
One of the deadliest attacks of such attacks occurred on April 13 in the northern city of Sumy, where two ballistic missiles struck the historic city center minutes. The explosion killed at least 31 civilians – including two boys and injured 105 people. Many victims were arrested in a hurry while helping those injured get injured while riding in a bus near the first explosion or impact zone.
At least 630 children have been killed and more than 1,960 injured since the war began, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office.
Korostyshiv, a town rarely shaken by tragedy of this scale, was unified in Wednesday’s mourning.
“They are some talented kids who should continue to live, but sadly, the war took lives. We were so sad that the whole school and the community were mourning.”
The mourners slowly passed through their last respect through the coffin. Some flowers. Others can hardly walk.
“This is an irreparable loss and will impress in each of us,” Zhytomyr Region Governor Vitali Bunechko in a statement. “We look up to honor the children whose Russian missiles shorten their lives.”
