Russian drone kills couple and their two children in Sumy Oblast; mother pregnant with twins

An entire family – the Liesnichenkos – was killed when a Russian drone struck their home in the village of Chernechchyna in Sumy Oblast on the night of 29-30 September. The couple, Alyona and Oleksandr, along with their two young sons aged six and four, were killed.

Source: local secondary school; Kordon.Media, a local news outlet in Sumy Oblast

Details: According to the village head Oksana Chernova and the couple's neighbours, the family had moved to Chernechchyna from Krasnopillia, which is a bit closer to the front line, after their house there had been damaged. In their new village, they lived in Alyona's parents' home.

"We learned on site […] that this family had only recently relocated. They fled the attacks and settled here in a new house," local journalists reported.

Kordon.Media added that the 26-year-old mother had been pregnant with twins:

"What remains of their home are ruins – no roof, no walls. In the garden, children's clothes are still hanging out to dry, prepared for the arrival of two more babies."

Sumy Oblast Military Administration earlier confirmed that Russian forces had deliberately targeted the house where the family lived. According to the regional prosecutor's office, the attack occurred at around 02:40.

Emergency workers later recovered the bodies of the parents and their sons from under the rubble.

Law enforcement has opened a criminal case for war crimes that caused civilian deaths under Article 438.2 of the Criminal Code (war crime resulting in death). Authorities continue to document the aftermath of the attack.

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