Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Younger brother of pink-haired girl shot dead with her parents in Ukraine has died

Semyon, 5, has died after being left in a critical condition following him and his family being shot at by Russian forces while fleeing Ukraine

Furvah Shah
Friday 04 March 2022 22:59 GMT
Comments
Five-year-old Semyon (R) has died after he and his family, including his father Anton (L) were shot by Russian forces.
Five-year-old Semyon (R) has died after he and his family, including his father Anton (L) were shot by Russian forces. (Anton Kudrin/Facebook)
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

The younger brother of a pink-haired schoolgirl who died alongside their parents after being shot near Kyiv, Ukraine has now passed away.

Five-year-old Semyon was left fighting for his life along with his 13-year-old sister, Sofia, after their family attempted the flee the country but he died on Wednesday, according to a family friend.

His sister, 10-year-old Polina and their parents, Anton Kudrin and Svetlana Zapadynskaya, were reportedly killed by Russian troops as the family were in a car trying to leave Kyiv.

A picture of pink-haired Polina was shared on Wednesday by the deputy mayor of Kyiv, Volodymyr Bondarenko, who said: “Her name was Polina. She studied in the 4th grade of school in Kyiv.

“Her and her parents were shot by Russian DRG (sabotage reconnaissance groups).”

Polina was in her final year of primary school and is thought to be the first identified child victim of the war.

Semyon was receiving treatment at Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv and remained in critical condition for 72 hours before passing away.

Polina, 10, and her parents where shot and killed by Russian soldiers and she is thought to be the first identified child victim of the conflict
Polina, 10, and her parents where shot and killed by Russian soldiers and she is thought to be the first identified child victim of the conflict (Volodymyr Bondarenko)

His older sister, Sofia, remains in intensive care at another hospital unaware that her entire family has died.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 16 children had been killed in the conflict, but that figure is likely to have increased since.

Among those children, a six-year-old girl wearing pink unicorn-print pyjamas was fatally wounded by shelling in Mariupol, south-east Ukraine on Sunday.

A doctor who attempted to save the child’s life said to a video-journalist from Associated Press: “Show this to Putin – the eyes of this child, and crying doctors.”

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

In an address to the European Parliament, President Zelensky said: “Again and again, President Putin is going to say that is some kind of operation and we are hitting a military infrastructure.

“But where are our children? What kind of military factories do they work at? What tanks are they going with?”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in