During an attack on a hypermarket in Kharkiv on May 25, Russia killed almost an entire family. A 20-year-old girl lost her mother, Iryna Myronenko, and her younger sister Mariia in an instant. Her father, Ihor, narrowly survived and is currently hospitalized, according to Serhii Bolvinov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Police Investigative Department.
The family had gone shopping at the hypermarket. Following the Russian attack, the girl attempted to contact her family but was unable to reach them. “The 12-year-old sister and mom are not answering calls, they didn’t return home. Dad was with them. Now he is in the hospital with a concussion. This girl returned to the strike site late in the evening. She has already submitted DNA samples. We will be searching for her relatives, unfortunately, among the killed,” Bolvinov said on May 26. Later, it was reported that fragments of the child’s and mother’s bodies were found.
“Unfortunately, our parishioners Iryna and her 12-year-old daughter Mariia died during the insidious attack of the Russian Federation on 25.05.2024 on the Epicentr hypermarket in Kharkiv. May the Lord accept them into the Kingdom of Heaven! May the Lord comfort the relatives, heal the wounded! Eternal memory!” wrote the parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Kharkiv.
Currently, the Russian strike has resulted in 16 confirmed deaths and 44 injuries. The search operation is ongoing. There are potentially 18 more victims, with 11 positively identified. Additionally, relatives have made seven claims to law enforcement agencies in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia struck the hypermarket in Kharkiv at around 16:00 on May 25. According to the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, there were about 200 people there. No military object nearby.
Kharkiv is the second-largest city in northeastern Ukraine by population. Before the full-scale invasion, one and a half million people lived there. Russia bombards the city daily from its territory with drones, bombs, and missiles. The occupiers indiscriminately shell the city, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash stated that the missiles Russia employs to attack the city, specifically the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, are challenging to intercept due to their proximity to the Russian border and the complexity of these air targets.
On May 23 in Kharkiv, Russians destroyed one of the largest printing houses in Europe – seven people were killed, 17 were injured. The printing house was destroyed, and 50,000 books were burned.
The Ukrainian World Congress calls on the governments of all democratic countries to urgently transfer air defense systems to Ukraine.
Photos: Reuters
