“Rest in peace, our blue-eyed girl”: stories of six children killed by Russia in Uman
Russia launched a missile attack on a residential building in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, on 28 April. The missile hit the apartment building, killing 23 people, including 6 children. The Memorial platform commemorates the innocent children who were killed.
Kyrylo Pysariev, 17 years old
Sofiia Shulha, 11 years old
Kyrylo Pysariev, 17, and his 11-year-old sister Sofiia Shulha were killed on 28 April 2023, when in the middle of the night a Russian missile hit the house in Uman where the family lived.
The parents and another son were in another room and survived.
Kyrylo Pysariev, 17 years old, UmanAll photos by the Memorial platform
Kyrylo and Sofiia's family are internally displaced people from Luhansk Oblast.
In 2014, they fled to Cherkasy Oblast from the Russian aggression in their home oblast. In Uman, Kyrylo studied at Lyceum No.
1 and was in his last year of high school, and Sofiia was in the 6th grade of Gymnasium No.
5.
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"Kyrylo was a bright, kind, sincere boy who had dreams and plans to enrol into a higher education institution, but...
His little sister Sofiia was killed with him. It is impossible to express in words the pain and despair that grips the soul. Our sincere condolences to the family.
May the deceased forever be remembered. You are in our memory forever," Tamila Skarbovska, Kyrylo's teacher, recounts.
Sofiia Shulha, 11 years old, Uman
Sofiia's teacher Valeriia Makukha also recollects some things about the girl: "My student, a creative and sincere girl, Sofiia Shulha, was killed. It is impossible to find words of support for the parents who have lost their loved ones.
Sofiia is forever in our memories and hearts. Rest in peace, our blue-eyed girl." On 30 April, we bid farewell to the brother and sister in the Church of the Icon of the Holy Mother of God who is Quick to Hear Prayers.
Many residents of the town and the children's classmates came to the church. Kyrylo and Sofiia's parents and younger brother have survived the attack.
Ivan Odaiskyi, 1.5 years old
Ivan Odaiskyi, 1.5 years old, Uman
The Russian missile strike in Uman killed one-and-a-half-year-old Ivan Odaiskyi and his 28-year-old mother. The boy's father, Roman, was not at home at the time of the attack - he was travelling to Mykolaiv on business.
When he returned, the man recognised his killed family by the remains of their clothes. Little Ivan was born in Uman. He grew up a wonderful boy, sometimes he liked to misbehave.
The parents were planning to send their son to kindergarten. "He lived with his mum and dad, but he was a mummy's boy. He didn't want to be without her at all.
He loved sweets and played with cars," Sofiia Bocharova, a family friend, says. Ivan and his mother were buried in her native village of Horodetske in Palanka district of Cherkasy Oblast. Ivan is survived by a father, a grandmother, an aunt and an uncle.
Oleksii Lysak, 15 years old
Alina Barchenko, 10 years old
Oleksii Lysak, 15 years old, Uman
On 28 April, 15-year-old Oleksii Lysak, along with his younger sister Alina, mother Iryna, grandmother Liuba and aunt Nataliia, were killed when the apartment building was hit.
They lived on the eighth floor of the building. Oleksii was born and lived in Uman, and studied at the local Gymnasium No.
5. On 19 May, he would have turned 16.
"A terrible tragedy happened on 28 April. A Russian missile hit a residential building, and many people were killed, including my alumnus and his family, Oleksii Lysak. He was a bright, kind and compassionate person, as was his family.
Eternal memory of the victims, they will always remain in our hearts," Yaryna Lampika, Oleksii's teacher, recounts.
Alina Barchenko, 10 years old, Uman
Ten-year-old Alina was a fourth-grade student at a local gymnasium. She was remembered as a kind and compassionate girl. "Alinka was quiet and calm.
Sincere and always ready to help her friends. She loved her family very much. It is impossible to find words.
Alinka's entire family was killed that tragic morning. Our sunny [girl] will always remain in our memories and hearts. May she rest in peace!" said Valentyna Osipchuk, Alina's teacher.
Alina loved to draw, play in the yard and ride the swing while listening to music. "She knew us all by name, she was very positive. Tragedy.
Pain. I can't believe it. Such a [good] child!
Perhaps, every time I walk past this swing, I will see her... RIP, sweet child," said Arina Mazur, a neighbour of the family. The teenagers are survived by their sister Karina and uncle Andrii.
Alina Barchenko is survived by her father Vitalii.
Uliana Troichuk, 8 years old
Uliana Troichuk, 8 years old, Uman
A Russian missile in Uman took the life of eight-year-old Uliana Troichuk. Her father Roman, stepmother Antonina and grandmother Valentyna were killed with her. Uliana did not live with her father, but with her mother Inna Kuzmenko.
However, the girl often visited the house that was hit by the Russian missile, and went to school nearby. Before the tragedy, Uliana stayed in the house with her father: they planned to spend time together, wanted to go to their village house, but did not have time. Her family remembers Ulianka as a cheerful and intelligent girl.
"A little beauty, a smart, sensitive and cheerful girl, Ulianka, who was only eight years old. Her mother, aunt and grandmother work as medics, helping and saving lives," said Svitlana Franko, a family friend. Uliana was buried in the village of Apolianka, where her grandparents live.
The girl is survived by her mother, grandparents and aunt.
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