Latest news with #Kyrylo
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two young adults brought back from Ukraine's occupied territory, including 18-year-old who spent most of her childhood under occupation
Ukraine has managed to bring back an 18-year-old woman who spent most of her childhood under occupation and a 21-year-old man whose village was captured by the Russians in 2022. Source: Bring Kids Back UA initiative Details: Karyna (name changed), 18, spent almost her entire childhood under Russian occupation. She always knew that she wanted to live in Ukraine, so she waited until she came of age to finally leave. Now Karyna is starting a new life in Ukraine: she wants to go to university and find a job. The village where 21-year-old Kyrylo (name changed) lived was occupied at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when he had just turned 18. The village was left without communications, checkpoints began to appear, and people began to disappear. Kyrylo's mother left for Crimea, and the young man was left alone. It was dangerous for him to leave because of the numerous Russian checkpoints. The young man received help in finding a safe route, gathering documents and preparing for departure. Kyrylo is now in Ukraine-controlled territory with his family. Background: On 28 May, 11 children were brought back from Russian-occupied territory to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Among them were two orphans and relatives of military personnel. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'I didn't have time to think. I just acted' – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack
On a quiet morning on April 13, Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son Kyrylo were taking a bus through the city of Sumy to see his grandmother, as they often do on Sundays. It was a route they knew by heart — one they'd taken countless times. But that morning, out of nowhere, a sudden blast knocked them off their feet, plunging everything into darkness. On April 13, as Ukraine marked Palm Sunday, Russia launched its deadliest attack on the northeastern city, hitting Sumy downtown with two ballistic missiles. The attack killed 35 people and injured nearly 120, including Kyrylo and his mother, who were trapped in the epicenter. "I immediately fell to the ground and felt shards of glass and metal raining down on me," Kyrylo told the Kyiv Independent. "I waited until it stopped, then got up and tried to open the bus doors." The blast was so powerful that it shattered the bus's windows and cracked its doors, making it impossible to open them from the inside. In shock and with her face covered in blood, Maryna shouted to the driver, urging him to open the door as the smell of burning spread through the crowded bus. No response followed. She soon realized that the driver was probably dead. "I was terrified the bus was on fire. As soon as I smelled it, I knew we had to get out quickly," she told the Kyiv Independent. Although he was injured himself, Kyrylo decided to take action. "I threw my sports bag out the window and jumped onto it to avoid landing in debris on the ground," he recalls. "I began trying to open the doors from the other side, and after several attempts, I managed to do it." Thanks to him, those trapped in the damaged bus managed to escape safely. "Outside, I saw bodies lying on the ground. There were many people. But I did not have time to think at that moment. I just acted," he said. For his bravery, Kyrylo was awarded the Honorary Distinction of the Sumy City Council "For Merits to the City," as well as a two-week trip to a children's camp in Bulgaria, Acting Sumy Mayor Artem Kobzar reported on April 17. "Thank you, that was the act of a real man," Kobzar told Kyrylo in a video that he published on his Telegram. The brutal strike came amid the U.S.'s ongoing effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine, although it has applied no apparent pressure on Moscow to cease its aggression. Russia's attack on Sumy followed another deadly strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on April 4, where 21 people were killed, including nine children. Read also: Critical week for Ukraine begins as Trump hopes to 'end war' The April 13 attack on their hometown was not the only shocking and traumatizing event that the Russian full-scale invasion caused the Illiashenko family. Early in the invasion, when parts of Sumy Oblast were under Russian occupation, a Russian air strike hit near the family's house, recalls Maryna, deeply frightening Kyrylo and his younger brother Matvii, now nine. The family decided to flee Sumy for nearly two months to Ukraine's safer region in the west, as the children could not get over the attack. "When they went to bed, the children stayed fully dressed so they could run and hide at any moment," Maryna recalls. But during their time away from home, the family dreamed of returning to their "lovely little hometown," she says, adding that they were relieved to come back in the spring of 2022, after Russian forces were pushed out of the region. Though Russian forces fired artillery at Sumy Oblast's border areas on a near-daily basis for the next two years, it was mostly quiet in the city of Sumy. Attacks on the northeastern region and Sumy city have intensified since August of 2024, following Ukraine's surprise cross-border incursion into Russia's adjacent Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian troops held a nearby town of Sudzha for seven months before they were forced to withdraw in March. Fighting continues in the border areas. Still, Maryna says they couldn't have imagined coming under such a deadly strike. That morning, while her husband and younger son stayed home, Maryna and Kyrylo were waiting at the bus stop when the first explosion hit. "My husband called immediately, asking us to come back home. But we still decided to visit grandmother," Maryna recalls, adding that they entered the bus shortly after the first explosion. The second missile, fired minutes after the first one in what is known as a 'double-tap' strike – a tactic frequently employed by Russia – was armed with cluster munitions. Such munitions are used to inflict greater devastation on civilians in the affected area. "When shards of glass flew into my face, I realized that the missile had exploded very close," Maryna says. "I had glass in my eyes and couldn't see anything as I had been standing right by the window." "I was screaming my son's name, trying to understand if he was okay." As soon as she managed to wipe some blood and glass from her face, Maryna saw her son jumping out of the bus window. According to her, there were up to 40 people on the bus at the time of the attack. She believes that those sitting in the front rows, including the driver, were killed instantly. The rest of those surviving the strike managed to quickly escape the bus thanks to her son. "I only saw my mom when I opened the door," says Kyrylo. "I saw people leaving the bus, and then I saw my mom's face — it was completely covered in blood," he says, adding that it was the moment when he got really scared. It later turned out that Maryna's injuries were less severe than her son's — Kyrylo had several pieces of metal shrapnel lodged in his skull and is now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sumy. Kyrylo says he is very upset about missing the freestyle wrestling competition he had been preparing for over months due to his injuries. Yet, according to Kyrylo, the sport helped him stay focused and composed during the attack. "It was thanks to sports because every competition puts you under stress. And with each one, you get more and more used to handling yourself." He now receives numerous calls from locals thanking him for his courageous actions. "My classmates have been messaging me. One of them had a grandmother on that bus, and another had an aunt," Kyrylo says. "They thanked me a lot because their relatives were able to get out through the exit I opened." Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russia's brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russia's war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
"Heroes among us": Ukrainian teen receives award for rescuing bus passengers after Russian missile strike on Sumy
Sumy City Council has honoured 13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko, who rescued people from a burning bus following the recent Russian missile strike on the city. Source: Sumy Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar Details: Kyrylo received the Sumy City Council's third-class award For Services to the City. He was also given a voucher for a two-week holiday at a children's camp in Bulgaria. "Heroes among us!" Kobzar wrote. Background: On 13 April, Russian forces launched ballistic missiles on the centre of Sumy. The attack killed at least 35 people, including 2 children. Over 119 civilians were injured. At the time of the missile strike, Kyrylo and his mother were on a bus on their way to training. The explosion caused a fire onboard and the doors became jammed. But Kyrylo kept calm as he climbed out through a window and began helping other passengers escape the burning bus. The boy was injured in the attack: three pieces of shrapnel struck his head. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Euronews
16-04-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Survivors and doctors recount horror of deadly Russian missile attack in Sumy
ADVERTISEMENT Survivors of a deadly Russian missile attack and the doctors treating them have spoken of their horror at what unfolded in the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy last week. Back-to-back missile strikes on Sunday morning killed 35 people and injured more than 100 others, making it the most fatal Russian attack on civilians in Ukraine so far this year. "I can't understand these people, the people who send these missiles," said Oleksandr Zaitsev, acting head of the local hospital's intensive care unit. "In the 21st century, there are people who like to kill other people. I'm just shocked." The attack on Sumy, a city around 30km from the Russian border, has drawn criticism from around the world, with the incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling it 'a serious war crime". Standing in front of the collapsed facade of a university building where the second missile struck, Oleh Strilka, a spokesperson for the city's State Emergency Service, said: 'I don't want to think about this as a new type of reality for Sumy city. We can clearly see that our frontline cities are being erased." 'The most painful thing for me is our children. Why do they need to suffer?' he asked. 'I don't want our 13-year-old kids becoming heroes.' Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son, Kyrylo, were both injured in the missile strike as they travelled by bus to visit the teenager's grandmother. The second missile crashed down close to the vehicle, killing the driver and injuring them. Shrapnel tore through Kyrylo's scalp and scratched Maryna's face. The pair tried to open the bus door from the inside but it was jammed. "Then, while I was thinking about what to do next, I looked up and my child had already jumped through the doorframe and was opening the door from the outside," Maryna said. "He opened it, and there were people lying in front of me. He helped them up first and then let me out. He was very scared because my face was covered in blood,' she continued. Hennadii Smolarov, another Ukrainian injured in the attack, was also travelling by bus when the attack happened. "I was standing by the window and was hit by a blow," he said. "And now my arm doesn't work and my skull is broken." Related 'Putin is mocking Trump': EU foreign ministers call for new sanctions on Russia after Sumy attack The attack in Sumy, which had a prewar population of about 250,000, came just over a week after a Russian missile strike killed about 20 people, including nine children, in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. ADVERTISEMENT In the aftermath of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a global response. 'Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need tangible sanctions against those sectors that finance the Russian killing machine,' he said.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
"At that moment I didn't think – I acted": 13-year-old teen describes how he rescued wounded bus passengers in Sumy
13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko from Sumy was on a bus with his mother when a Russian missile hit nearby. The explosion caused a fire on the vehicle and blocked the doors. However, Kyrylo did not panic – he climbed out through a window and began helping other passengers escape the burning bus. Source: Kyrylo on the national joint 24/7 newscast Details: "At that moment I didn't think – I acted. I was just running on adrenaline," the teenager said about rescuing the passengers. He added that he had no prior experience or training in providing assistance. Kyrylo also shared his memories of the moment with journalists from an online media outlet in Sumy Oblast. Quote: "We were driving along Bankova Street – I heard something whistling and falling. Then I heard people screaming, and the windows shattered. I fell down, and glass rained down on me. At first, I suffered a slight contusion and all the sounds became muffled. I looked to the left and right, and smelled something burning. So I thought the bus was already on fire or could catch fire. I got up quickly and started trying to unblock the bus doors. They wouldn't open, so I threw my bag out the window and jumped out myself, then tried to unblock the doors from outside." Details: The other passengers were not screaming – they were in shock. Once the doors were opened, Kyrylo started helping people out. His mother's face was covered in blood. The boy admitted that he was very scared for her. As a result of the attack, the young man was also wounded – three fragments hit him in the head. Doctors have already removed the largest metal fragment. The doctors said that the remaining two are too deeply embedded to extract. Kyrylo's life is not in danger, but he remains under medical supervision. His mother Maryna admitted she still cannot recover from what happened. "It's hard to close my eyes – that image is still in front of me. We didn't sleep all night. Emotionally, it's very difficult. I was on the bus and saw my son helping others. At that moment, I realised I had raised a true man," Maryna said with pride. Kyrylo is in Year 8 at Sumy School No. 4 and trains in freestyle wrestling at the local youth sports school. The school called Kyrylo's actions an example of true heroism and thanked his parents for raising such a son. His actions were also recognised by Internal Minister Ihor Klymenko, who visited the boy during a working trip to Sumy. Ihor Klymenko personally thanked Kyrylo for his bravery. Photo: Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs "Now, the whole country is thanking Kyrylo for his actions. This is our new generation of heroes – brave, determined and selfless," Klymenko said. Background: On 13 April, Russian forces launched two ballistic missiles at the centre of Sumy. A total of 35 people were killed in the attack, including 2 children. Over 119 civilians were injured. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
