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Injured Ukrainian siblings unaware sister, parents killed by Russians

A brother and sister are fighting for their lives after their parents and 10-year-old sibling were reportedly shot dead by Russians as they tried to flee Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Anton Kudrin, his wife Svetlana Zapadynskaya, and their middle daughter Polina, were murdered in their car on Saturday by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group, the BBC reports.

Their eldest daughter Sofia — whose age is unknown — and young son Semyon, 5, are now in a critical condition in hospital, unaware that the majority of their family has been killed.

Sofia and Semyon before the attack in Ukraine. Source: Facebook
Sofia and Semyon, 5, are now in critical condition in hospital in Ukraine. Source: Facebook

Polina, an avid Harry Potter fan, was in her final year of primary school.

Vladimir Bondarenko, the deputy mayor of Kyiv, shared a photo of the smiling 10-year-old wearing pink coloured highlights in her hair.

“Her name was Polina. She studied in the 4th grade of school in Kyiv. Her and her parents were shot by Russian DRG,” he wrote, according to reports.

At least 16 Ukrainian children killed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 16 children had been killed around Ukraine since Thursday, and he mocked Russia’s claim that it is going after only military targets.

“Where are the children? What kind of military factories do they work at? What tanks are they going at?” Zelensky said.

The number of fatalities is expected to rise.

One of the young victims includes a six-year-old girl whose apartment block was shelled in the southern port city of Mariupol on Sunday.

Anton Kudrin, his wife Svetlana Zapadynskaya, and their children Polina, Sofia and Semyon pose for a family photo.
Anton Kudrin, his wife Svetlana Zapadynskaya, and their middle daughter Polina, were murdered in their car on Saturday. Source: Facebook

Distressing pictures show a woman covered in blood, believed to be her mum, weeping outside an ambulance as a medical team tries desperately to save the girl dressed in unicorn pyjamas.

A doctor in blue medical scrubs, pumping oxygen into the girl, told a journalist who was allowed inside to capture the horrific moment: “Show this to Putin. The eyes of this child, and crying doctors”.

Another girl named Alisa Hlans, who was just months away from her eight birthday, died on Friday after an attack on her kindergarten, the BBC reports.

Ukraine: Civilian death toll believed to be much higher

Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas on Tuesday (local time), bombarding the central square in Ukraine’s second-biggest city Kharkiv and Kyiv’s main TV tower in what the country’s president called a blatant campaign of terror.

“Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget,” President Zelensky vowed after the bloodshed on the square in Kharkiv.

As the fighting in Ukraine rages on, the death toll remain unclear. One senior Western intelligence official estimated that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers had been captured or killed.

Ukraine gave no overall estimate of troop losses.

The UN human rights office said it has recorded 136 civilian deaths. The real toll is believed to be much higher.

With AP

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