Crime
Missing boy who fled with grandmother from Russian attacks found dead
Little Sasha had been missing for days and was found dead after a search operation in the Kyiv region
April 7, 2022 10:01am
Updated: April 9, 2022 1:43pm
Little Sasha, only four years old, was found dead on Wednesday after being missing for days. Those who found his body say he was killed by Russian gunfire.
Inna Sovsun, Minister of Education of the Ukrainian Parliament, confirmed the death of little Sasha after his mother dedicated a post to him on social networks.
"Today we have found Sashenka's body. I thank everyone who believed, who helped in the search, thank you all for your prayers and faith, thank you for your support. Sashenka, our little angel is already in heaven. Today his soul is at peace," his mother Anna Yahno wrote on Instagram.
Sasha went missing in mid-March while fleeing with his grandmother in the Vyshhorod district of the Kyiv region. Soldiers allegedly opened fired on the boat in which he and his grandmother were on as they tried to get away from Kyiv in search of peace and safety, according to El Mundo.
The little boy was wearing a life jacket, so his family was confident that he would not drown and be rescued by other refugees. In recent weeks, appeals were made on social networks hoping that Sasha would be found alive, the newspaper continued.
The boy lived with his family in Vychhorod, a town of 25,000 inhabitants located on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Desperate mothers
Since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, several women have chosen to write personal data on their children's backs so that they can be identified if they were killed or injured during the attack.
"In the photo, Vera shows her back on the first day of the war. I signed it with my hands shaking so much," a mother wrote in despair on Instagram, next to a photo that was spread on Tuesday by several users who demanded to maintain sanctions on Russia and an end to the war in Ukraine.
"I signed: Vera in case something happened to us, and someone picked her up as a survivor," she added in despair.
Several Ukrainian cities have been devastated by Russian troops, and in recent days images of civilian casualties in the city of Bucha have been broadcasted, causing outrage in several countries.
Images of mass graves circulated across social media on Sunday as Ukraine's top prosecutor, Iryna Venedyktova, claimed officials found at least 410 bodies in towns surrounding Kyiv following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area.
Russia denied the accusations that its troops have killed civilians in Bucha. The Kremlin's U.N. diplomat, Dmitry Polyanskiy, on Sunday claimed that the images of dead civilians were a "provocation by Ukrainian radicals."
