He beat cancer in childhood but was killed by war: details about those killed in Russian attack on Kyiv – photos

The Russian attack on Kyiv on 2 July killed 30 people and injured more than 90. Among them were a pair of siblings, as well as an entire family. On 3 July, a Day of Mourning was declared in the capital for the deceased Kyiv citizens.

Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia has compiled information about those killed in Kyiv.

Alla Melnychuk, co-founder of the public organisation Ukrainian Association of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, said that the attack had claimed the lives of the Savchuk family – Tetiana, her husband Yurii, their 15-year-old daughter Sofiia, their 23-year-old son Nikita and his fiancée.

The family lived in a residential sector in the Kharkivskyi district of the capital.

Alla Melnychuk shared that she had known the family for many years – Nikita had been her son's best friend. The children met in the nursery group at kindergarten.

"They were inseparable. They grew up together, played and enjoyed their childhood. Then something happened that at the time seemed like the greatest tragedy. Nikita suddenly fell ill. At first, doctors treated him for pneumonia. Then they suspected a congenital lung cyst. And very soon a horrible diagnosis – cancer – was announced. He fell into a coma," Alla said.

Within a matter of days, documents were arranged for Nikita and funds were found to pay for treatment in Germany. The boy managed to overcome cancer.

"I cannot shake one thought: a child who once overcame a deadly illness, who was given a chance to live, who endured the hardest struggle… many years later was killed together with his closest loved ones by war," Alla wrote.

In a comment to UP.Zhyttia, Alla Melnychuk said that Nikita had graduated from a medical college – he had dreamed of helping people. He had been planning to get married in mid-July. His mother Tetiana worked as a hairdresser.

Of the whole family, only the grandmother – Yurii's mother – survived.

The attack also claimed the life of Artem Didenko, an employee of the Balistyka company, director Oleksandr Dovhyi said. The man's body was found on the morning of 3 July under the rubble of the destroyed building.

"Artem will forever remain part of the history of Balistyka. His photograph will greet everyone who crosses our threshold, reminding them of him and of the price Ukraine pays every day in this struggle – both on the battlefield and in the rear.

Personally, I want to remember Artem exactly as he is in this photo. A person who was always ready to help. Great, full of life, with kind eyes. That is how he will remain in my memory forever," Oleksandr Dovhyi noted.

A fundraiser has been launched to support Artem's relatives – contributions can be made via this link.

Also among the victims were a brother and sister – Bohdan and Viktoriia Dolia. They were born and raised in the city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast, city mayor Artem Semenikhin said. The siblings studied at Konotop Lyceum No. 1. Twenty-four-year-old Bohdan was a serviceman. [A lyceum is a secondary school typically focusing on academic subjects and preparing students for higher education or specialised careers – ed.]

The farewell ceremony for Bohdan and Viktoriia will take place on 5 July. The time and place of the ceremony will be announced later.

Background:

• Earlier, Up.Zhyttia reported about a security guard known as Uncle Vova, who was also killed in the Russian attack. He worked at a facility located near the office of the YouTube channel Islandiya. Before his death, the man saved another person – he let a young man out of the building with whom he had been sheltering from the attack.
• A total of 56 injured people remain in hospitals in the capital, including four children. Six medical workers who had responded to the scene of the attack and came under fire have also been hospitalised. They are receiving all necessary assistance.

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