Woman pulled husband from rubble but could not save her daughters: sisters, 5 and 10, killed in Russian strike on Sumy

Two sisters – five-year-old Emiliia and 10-year-old Sofiia Dvornichenko – were killed in Russian guided bomb strikes on Sumy on the night of 3-4 August.

Source: Suspilne Sumy, a local branch of Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne

Details: The children were trapped under the rubble of their house. Their parents managed to survive.

The Dvornichenko family lived in a two-storey house, their neighbours said. The girls' bedroom was on the first floor.

Neighbours rushed to help the family immediately after the strike. According to a relative, Nina, the girls' mother, Natalia, managed to pull her husband from the rubble but was unable to save her daughters.

Quote from Nina: "Sofiia was 10, Emiliia was just a little doll, a little girl. And now, nothing – they're gone. Imagine having to live through that. God has left the parents behind. Natalia says, 'I don't know why we weren't all trapped together.' By some miracle Natalia pulled Pavlo [her husband – ed.] out, but she says she couldn't pull the children out."

Details: The family was raising three children. The eldest was not at home at the time of the attack, local media outlet Kordon.Media reported.

A 76-year-old woman was also killed in another guided bomb strike. Her house was also destroyed.

A day of mourning for those killed has been declared on 5 August in the Sumy hromada, acting Mayor Artem Kobzar has announced. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

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