Girl with eyes full of life: 12-year-old schoolgirl killed in Russian UAV attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
A 12-year-old girl was killed in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as a result of a Russian attack on the night of 28-29 April. A UAV hit her family's house. The girl's six-year-old sister and parents were injured.
Source: Suspilne. Dnipro
Details: The tragedy occurred in the Hubynykha hromada. The victim was a student of a local lyceum, Marharyta Titarenko. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]
As the girl's grandmother Mariia told Suspilne Dnipro, a pillar fell on her granddaughter as a result of a UAV hit. At the time, Marharyta was sleeping in a room on the first floor.
When rescue workers pulled her out of the rubble, she was still alive.
"It's just beyond words. What could that child have been guilty of? What were they targeting here, if there were civilians living here? I came over on Sunday, and she was quiet, as if she felt it.
Ritochka was downstairs. If it wasn't for the pillar, maybe the child would have survived," the woman says.
Mariia says that Marharyta’s parents and her younger sister were sleeping on the second floor. They were taken to hospital for examination because of their injuries.
The woman said that Marharyta used to sing and dance and was a good student.
"She sang very beautifully and danced... Her mother is a teacher, so she was smart beyond her age. She also excelled in mathematics. In fact, in everything," Mariia recalls.
The girl’s neighbours and classmates came to the scene to help.
"She was very kind, friendly, and helped everyone. Most people praised her; she was a good student. She loved mathematics and the Ukrainian language. She loved all subjects," said Kateryna, a classmate of Marharyta.
A friend of the girl, Kira, said that she had last seen her at school the day before her death.
"I can't believe it happened... We were at school just yesterday, and now it's over," the girl said.
Yuliia Tarasova-Cherniavska, a teacher at the Hubynykha Lyceum, said that Marharyta was active and often participated in various events.
"Since kindergarten, the girl has been growing up talented. At the lyceum, she was a winner of art and academic competitions, and an active participant in events at the community centre.
We will remember Marharyta as a bright, sweet, kind, well-mannered, sociable, friendly girl," she wrote.
"Talented, bright, creative... An innocent angel. Everyone remembers Marharyta's performances in our institution. It is impossible to put into words the feeling of loss.
A charming girl with eyes full of life... Forever in our memory and in the hearts of everyone who knew her," the local Palace of Culture said on its website.
The Hubynykha hromada declared two days of mourning on 29 and 30 April.
"Words cannot express the depth of our grief. This tragedy is another terrible testament to the cruelty of the aggressor, who stops at nothing in its criminal war against Ukraine," the post reads.
Background: On 28 April, Kyiv bid farewell to the family of 17-year-old Danylo Khudei, who was killed in a large-scale Russian attack on the night of 23-24 April along with his parents, Viktoriia and Oleh.
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