Mother shielded her during strike: two-year-old girl from Odesa discharged from hospital – video

A two-year-old girl, Karolina, whom her mother shielded with her body when their home began collapsing after a Russian overnight attack on Odesa, has been discharged from hospital. Earlier, a photo of a rescue worker carrying the girl in his arms circulated widely online.

Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Details: On the night of 5-6 April, Russian forces carried out a large-scale attack on Odesa. After a UAV strike, the walls of the residential building where Karolina lived with her family began to collapse. Her pregnant mother covered the little girl with her body.

Quote: "When rescue workers pulled her from under the rubble, they did not even see the child at first, until the woman cried out through the pain: 'Save my daughter!'

Karolina's mother has given permission for this photo to be published without blurring. She wants the world to see these eyes. At two years old, a child should not know what an 'explosion', a 'fire trap' or 'rubble' is. But in Karolina's gaze there is only silent horror and an adult, unchildlike despair. She does not yet understand everything, but she already feels that something irreparable has happened."

Details: The girl and her mother have now been discharged from hospital and are both well.

Background:

• On the night of 5-6 April, Russian forces carried out a large-scale drone attack on Odesa. Residential buildings in several districts of the city were hit. A drone struck a high-rise residential building, causing severe damage between the second and fourth floors.
• The strike killed a young mother and her two-year-old daughter as well as a 53-year-old woman. At least 16 other people were injured.

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