A Russian strike on a Sumy kindergarten killed two women who worked there: what is known about them

Larysa Hordiienko and Tamara Yasenova, two women who worked at a kindergarten in the city of Sumy, were killed in a Russian drone strike on the preschool on 6 May.

Source: Suspilne Sumy, the regional branch of Ukraine's national public broadcaster in Sumy Oblast

Larysa Hordiienko, who was 45, was from the village of Velyka Pysarivka. After leaving school, she enrolled at Sumy State A.S. Makarenko Pedagogical Institute, graduating in 2003. That same year she gave birth to her first child, a son named Sviatoslav.

Liudmyla Biriukova, head of the Velyka Pysarivka hromada, said that after her maternity leave, Larysa devoted herself to working with children. She worked at a kindergarten and an after-hours childcare group at a special school, and was a director of learning at an extracurricular arts centre for children and young people. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

Larysa later returned to Sumy and continued working in preschool education. She was a secretary at a kindergarten and later became the head of the institution, a post she held for four years.

That same day, Russia also took the life of Tamara Yasenova. She was 48 and had previously worked as head of the Khmelivka kindergarten. She is survived by her husband and two sons.

In a statement, Krasnopillia Village Council said: "Tamara Viktorivna will forever remain in the memory of all who knew her as a cheerful, sincere, wise and kind-hearted person. She was known as responsible, compassionate and caring, someone who was sincerely loved by children and respected by her colleagues and residents of our hromada.

She had the gift of supporting others with a kind word, offering hope and radiating the warmth of her soul to everyone around her. Her sincerity, wisdom and kindness left a vivid impression in the hearts of many people."

Background: Russian forces attacked the kindergarten in central Sumy with strike drones on 6 May. Two people were killed and seven were injured in the attack.

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