Surgeons in Kyiv had to amputate a nine-year-old girl’s arm to save her life after she was shot while fleeing home.
The girl, known only to Sasha, is being treated in the hospital. Last week, she was fleeing the fighting in the Kiev suburb of Gostomel with her father, mother and sister when bullets hit the family car.
Her father was killed and the other three fled outside before hiding in the basement.
Sasha fell into and out of consciousness for two days before volunteers waving a white flag took her to a nearby hospital on a makeshift stretcher.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Sasha said, “I don’t know why the Russians shot me. I hope it was an accident and they didn’t mean to offend me.
Nine-year-old Sasha was fleeing the fighting in the Kiev suburb of Gostomel when the Russian military opened fire on the family car, killing her father and wounding her in the arm.
Sasha (pictured before the war) lay wounded in the basement for two days until rescuers were able to take her to the hospital, where doctors had to amputate most of her arm.
“I was wounded in the arm. I ran after my sister. My mom fell. I thought this was the end. But she wasn’t dead, she was just hiding from the shots. She was hiding.
“Then I lost consciousness. Someone took me to the basement. I was treated there. And then some people carried me on a towel to the hospital.”
The northwestern outskirts of Gostomel, Irpin and Bucha are at the forefront of the battle for Kyiv.
The Russian army launched a massive assault on these satellite cities in the hope of breaking through the Ukrainian defenses and capturing the capital.
At the Central Irpin Hospital in Bucha, a vascular surgeon, Dr. Vladislav Gorbovets, diagnosed her with gangrene and decided to amputate her left arm above the elbow. Otherwise, Sasha would have died.
Dr. Gennady Druzenko of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital told MailOnline that Sasha is one of many children horribly injured in the battles for Kyiv.
He explained: “This girl was taken to the Irpin Central Hospital with terrible injuries.
“She was shot dead when she was evacuated from Gostomel with her parents.
“Her father was shot while taking them away from the battlefield in his car.
Sasha’s family tried to escape from Gostomel in western Kyiv, where heavy fighting was going on with Russian troops (pictured is damage in nearby Irpin).
Tens of thousands of people fled the cities of Irpin (pictured), Gostomel and Bucha in western Kyiv as Putin’s troops close in.
Civilians are fleeing from Irpin, which is near Gostomel in western Kyiv, where fierce fighting is underway with Russian troops.
“The girl, her sister and mother found a safe place in the basement. They stayed there for two days while fighting took place above them in the streets.
“She was seriously injured, lost consciousness and became delirious.
“Russian soldiers tried to get into the basement. They shot at the door and yelled for people to get out.
“Finally, the girl was taken to the hospital by civilians waving a white flag as they fled through the war zone.
“She received emergency care at the Central Irpin Hospital, which was under fire.
“The doctor found that the gangrene had spread down the arm from the wound.
“He had to amputate her left arm to save her life.
“After that, the girl was transferred to a private clinic in Kyiv.
“She is one of many children who have suffered horrific injuries. They all lost at least one parent.”
Now the girl, who celebrated her ninth birthday the day before the Russian invasion on February 24, has asked for a new pink artificial hand covered in flowers.
The satellite image shows the badly damaged Gostomel airport, which was heavily attacked by the Russians in the early days of the war, not far from the house where Sasha’s family lived.
The nurse who treated Sasha in the 5th department of the Irpin Central Hospital in Bucha praised her for her strength and courage.
She said: “The first thing Sasha told me was; “Please tell me honestly, do I have a left hand or not?”
“I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know whether to say nothing, lie or tell her the truth.
“What do you say to a child who is in pain, but who knows that she endures it.
“She asked if she would be healthy and if she could get a new pink artificial hand painted with flowers.
“She is so strong. She doesn’t cry because she knows that only weak people cry.
“She thanked us for saving her life and taking care of us.”
The nurse added: “I am so angry and I hate those who shoot and maim children so much.”