Days after his parents and sister were shot dead by Russian forces, a five-year-old boy in war-torn Ukraine has also died, according to reports. The kid named Semyon was traveling in a vehicle with his family when it was brutally attacked on Saturday as they tried to flee the city of Kyiv following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Unfortunately for Semyon and his family, they encountered a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group during their escape. According to Kyiv's deputy mayor, the terrorist group opened fire on the car, killing Semyon's parents, Anton Kudrin and Svetlana Zapadynskaya, and his 10-year-old sister Polina.
Polina's death grabbed the headlines as she was the first child victim identified in the Ukraine onslaught. Ukraine has reported that Russian troops have killed at least 2,000 civilians since launching their military operation.
Death toll rises in Ukraine as Russia continues war attacks
Semyon and his 13-year-old sister Sofia were able to survive that initial attack. He was taken to Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital for treatment, but his young body succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, a family friend told the Daily Telegraph.
That left Sofia as the only surviving family member following that deadly gun attack. However, she remains in critical condition, receiving treatment in another hospital, and unaware of the tragedy that has struck her family.
Artem Melnyk, a friend of Kudrin, cannot hide his anger towards Russia when speaking about the incident. He asked them why do Russians shoot children and civil people? Melnyk said that the Kudrin family just wanted to leave Kyiv and stay alive, but they were attacked.
Tatyana Zolotina, another family friend, described the Kudrin children as "sweet, funny, and kind." Zolotina said only one girl remains now and that they will never forgive Russia and the Russians for their death.
Polina and Semyon will not be the last children victims of this war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, with the carnage showing no signs of stopping. Amnesty International said that Russia used widely-banned cluster munitions on a pre-school in northeastern Ukraine, an act the group says "may constitute a war crime." The Russian explosives hit the nursery and kindergarten in Okhtyrka in Ukraine on Friday, with three people taking shelter inside the building killed in that attack, including a child.
Semyon and Polina may be the first children victims identified during this conflict, but plenty more young Ukrainians are suffering early deaths because of Russia's unnecessary war in Ukraine.
Heartbreaking images have emerged from the country showing children killed. They include a photo of a six-year-old Ukrainian girl killed after a Russian airstrike and a father crying next to the lifeless body of his teenage son.
