Credit: East2West
The first images of the two young victims of Vladimir Putin’s “genocidal” missile strike in Ukraine have been released. Maksym Simaniuk, 10, and his sister Anastasia, 9, perished alongside their mother, Zoryana, 40, in a devastating attack on their residential block in Kyiv. The strike, part of a series of missile attacks that have killed at least 41 civilians, has sent shockwaves through the international community.
Maksym and Anastasia’s deaths are among the most heartbreaking losses in the recent wave of Russian aggression. Their five-story apartment building was one of many civilian targets hit, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people, including four children. The immediate aftermath of the strike was chaotic and heart-wrenching, with children’s voices heard screaming for help from beneath the rubble.
One local resident captured the tragic scene on video, saying, “Friends, this is a residential building. It’s on fire and people are screaming [in horror]. This is what Russians are doing, that’s how they are fighting. That’s how they are fighting us.”
Maksym’s sports coach, Volodymyr Boiev of the Ukrainian Karate Federation, expressed his grief and anger, stating, “Russian terrorists killed our little champion Maksym Symaniuk. Hate is not enough. Revenge will be eternal.”
Daria Herasymchuk, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky for children’s rights and rehabilitation, described the horrific moment the children were pulled from the debris. “They were a 9-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, and their mother. These children definitely did not expect that their lives would end like this.”
The missile strikes also targeted Kyiv’s children’s hospital, resulting in some of the most harrowing images of the war. Children, some undergoing chemotherapy, were evacuated as the oncology ward was hit. Ukraine’s health minister reported that at least three children were in the midst of open-heart surgeries when the missiles struck, reported The Sun.
One mother, Marina Ploskonos, tearfully recounted the terror her 4-year-old son experienced as he recovered from spinal surgery during the attack. “My child is terrified. This shouldn’t be happening, it’s a children’s hospital,” she said.
Among the victims at the hospital was Svitlana Lukyanchik, 30, a pediatric kidney doctor who had dedicated her life to helping the most vulnerable children. Her death underscores the indiscriminate nature of the attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes, describing them as a “genocidal” assault on Ukrainian cities and demanding accountability from Moscow. His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of “deliberately targeting” children.
Ukrainian sources have identified 95 suspects linked to the attacks, including military personnel from Russian airbases. Journalist Andriy Tsaplienko revealed detailed information about those responsible, stating, “They are the ones involved in the attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital and Ukrainian cities on July 8, 2024.”
The international community continues to grapple with the horrifying reality of these attacks, as Ukraine calls for justice and an end to the senseless violence against its civilians.
