Five children from same family killed in Russian missile strike laid to rest in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Five children from the Voronov family – Dominika, 16, Viorika, 14, Zakharii, 13, Federika, 9, and 18-month-old Artem – have been laid to rest in Radushne, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Their lives were cut short on the night of 29-30 July when a Russian missile struck their family home.
Source: Suspilne Dnipro
Details: The children had been considered missing for around two and a half months, but forensic examinations have now confirmed their deaths.
The children's grandmother, Nelia, said all that remained of the house after the strike was the foundation. Throughout this time, she had been praying that all the dead would be identified.
Quote from Nelia: "We didn't know how they would be separated. But now they will all be together as one family there in the cemetery. No miracle was possible. The only thing I asked God for was that they would all be found and identified. There was no one else there, only members of the family – 10 people."
Inna lives near the place where the Voronov family's home once stood. She said she ran outside immediately after the explosion and saw only rubble where the house had been.
Quote from Inna: "The missile hit right in the middle of the house, we were told, in the children's room. We were putting out a fire in the neighbouring house, where two children were trapped under the rubble. When we got them out and went to the [Voronovs'] house, there was no one left to look for… We knew them. All the children were friends with each other. They were good people."
Details: The Voronovs' neighbour Mykola said they had always been a happy, close-knit family.
"In a large family, everyone is like that – they help one another and live as one family. It's hard to comprehend what happened. Such pain," he said.
Dominika's best friend, Karina, also attended the funeral. She said they often spent time together.
Quote from Karina: "[Dominika] was a very kind and sincere person. She really loved beadwork. I even have a pendant from her. She was so wonderful that I just don't have the words. She loved children so much. She was even planning to have a family of her own one day. She wanted two children."
Details: Dominika's classmate Sofiia remembered her as a cheerful, smiling person.
"I didn't know her family, but Dominika was a very cheerful person who was always smiling. I never saw her sad. It is so sad that this happened," Sofiia said.
Ihor Kozachenko, headteacher at the school where Dominika studied, described her as a good friend and an optimistic person who always had a smile on her face.
"She was someone who supported others during difficult times, when some people were in despair. She always had a kind word for others. This is a huge loss for our school. Her family were very close – that is rare these days," he said.
Tetiana Usenko, headteacher at the school attended by Federika, Zakharii and Viorika, said the children's classmates still cannot talk about them without crying.
What is known about the tragedy
On the night of 29-30 July, Russian forces attacked the Kryvyi Rih district. A ballistic missile struck a house in the settlement of Radushne, where the Voronov family lived.
Artem Voronov, 47, and his wife Olena, 41, had 10 children. Seven of them were at home with their parents that night: Mark, 17, Dominika, 16, Viorika, 14, Zakharii, 13, Azarii-Ilai, 11, Federika, 9, and Emiliia, 6.
Their 18-month-old grandson, Artem, was also visiting. He was the son of their eldest son, Danylo, a serviceman based in Mykolaiv. Artem had been due to return home that weekend and had already been enrolled in nursery.
Until the latest forensic findings were released, the deaths of only five family members had been officially confirmed: the parents, Olena and Artem, and three of the children – Mark, Azarii-Ilai and Emiliia.
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