12yearold Kira Obedinsky was orphaned during the Ukraine War. The mother died when she was still a baby. The father, Yevhen Obedinsky, a former captain of Ukraine’s national water polo team, was shot dead as Russian forces advanced into the southeastern city of Mariupol on March 17.
Days later, Kira and her father’s friend tried to flee the city on foot, but after being injured in a landmine explosion, Kira was taken to a hospital in the Donetsk region controlled by Moscowbacked separatists.
Now Kira’s grandfather Oleksander fears he will never see her again. Speaking to CNN International, he said a separatist government official called Donetsk and invited him to travel there to pick them up, which the war made impossible.
Kira with her father and grandfather© reproduction social networks
He says he spoke to the hospital and was told that Kira will eventually be sent to an orphanage in Russia.
Oleksander said the Russians also removed Kira’s documents and that he will receive new documents in Russia. Russian media, which have repeatedly downplayed the brutality of the conflict in Ukraine, showed a video of Kira cheerfully talking about what she is sometimes allowed to call her grandfather.
The Russian government said it helped move at least 60,000 Ukrainians to safety across the Russian border. The Ukrainian government said around 40,000 people were displaced against their will.
Also Read: Situation in Mariupol Could Be a “Red Line” in Peace Negotiations
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