Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska has shared images of children killed since the Russian invasion on Instagram.
Black and white photos and a long text translated into several languages. On Sunday, Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in a heartbreaking message on Instagram. While her husband remained there to lead the battle against the Russian invasion, his family was evacuated. It is therefore far from him, but following the situation minute by minute, that Olena Zelenska wrote her words. She denounces the murders of innocent children, killed according to her “consciously and cynically by the invader”. She then tells the story of several young victims. First that of Polina, whose face has been around the world. The little girl succumbed “to the bombardments in the streets of the capital (Kiev), with her parents and her brother. His sister is in serious condition.
Then, she presents Alice, “who could not live to be 8 years old”. “She died during a bombing despite her grandfather who protected her with his body” in Okhtyrka. “18-month-old baby Kiril from Mariupol was taken to hospital by his father under fire. But the doctors couldn’t do anything. Arsene, 14 years old. Shrapnel hit the boy’s head. The doctors could not reach him, being taken under fire, Arseniy bled to death. Sophia, 6 years old. Killed with her one and a half year old brother, her mother and her grandparents in a car. The family tried to leave Nova Kakhovka”, she continues.
“Show that to Russian mothers”
If she chose to talk about it, it is because according to Ukrainian figures, 38 children have already been killed in Ukraine. “And that number may increase as I speak to you! When the Russian Federation says the occupiers are not fighting civilians, show them these pictures! How many children still have to die?”. What Olena Zelenska wants, like her husband, is to close Ukrainian airspace. “NATO countries: finally close the skies to Russian planes! Save our children so that yours do not die tomorrow” but also the establishment of humanitarian corridors.
This weekend, the two countries reached an agreement to evacuate civilians from Mariupol. But each time the ceasefire has been broken, with Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of breaking the rules. “Such humanitarian corridors are imperative right now in Ukraine’s most heavily attacked cities – never forget that hundreds of children are dying there in basements without food or medical attention. There has been no contact with them for a week because, when they try to leave or enter, the occupants fire on the families and the volunteers. I appeal to all honest media in the world! Tell this terrible truth: Russian invaders are killing children. And they do it deliberately, shooting to kill, to bring us to our knees, to prevent humanitarian aid,” writes Olena Zelenska. And to conclude: “Show this to Russian mothers – let them know what their sons are doing in Ukraine! Show these photos to Russian women – your men, brothers, husbands, compatriots kill children like yours! And you are personally responsible for the death of every Ukrainian child since you give your tacit consent to these crimes”.
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