Ukrainians kneel to pay respects as mother and son are laid to rest

2022-07-18

A village brought to its knees in sorrow: Ukrainians show their respect along the streets as mother and seven-year-old son killed by Putin missile are laid to rest

Viktoria Rekuta, 35, and her son Maxim Zharyi, seven, were killed in a Russian strike on Vinnytsia on Thursday
Residents of Malaya Mochulka, the pair’s home town, knelt to pay their final respects at the funeral procession
Two other children were among the 24 killed in the July 14 strike, which also injured more than 200 people
Four-year-old Liza Dmytrieva was buried yesterday, while eight-year-old Kirill Pyakhin also died in the blast
Russia has insisted the savage strike targeted the Ukrainian military during a meeting of air force command

Sobering video footage has emerged of Ukrainian citizens kneeling beside the road in an extraordinary show of grief as the bodies of a mother and son killed by one of Putin’s missiles were carried to their final place of rest.

Dozens of residents of Malaya Mochulka knelt to pay their final respects as the funeral procession of dentist Viktoria Rekuta, 35, and her son Maxim Zharyi, seven, drove through the village’s streets this morning.

The pair were visiting a clinic in the nearby city of Vinnytsia at around 10:50am on Thursday when it was hit by a Russian Kalibr missile launched from a submarine in the Black Sea.

Two other children were among the 24 killed in the strike, which injured more than 200 people and damaged dozens of buildings.

Ksenia Denisyuk, a friend of Viktoria, said of Maxim: ‘He was a wonder child, bright and kind.

‘Together they went to a clinic – this was the moment when the terrorist country [Russia] hit the medical centre.

‘Maxim could be identified only with a DNA test… The whole world should know that Russia is a terrorist state.’

The scenes of grief from the pair’s funeral procession come just one day after another child victim, four-year-old Liza Dmytrieva, was buried yesterday after being killed in the strike.

Liza’s death has become a symbol of Putin’s horrific war in Ukraine after images of her blood-spattered pushchair were circulated widely on social media.

One other child, eight-year-old Kirill Pyakhin, also died in Thursday’s strike as he waited in a parked car with his uncle while his grandmother went to get cash from a nearby bank.

Russia has insisted the savage strike targeted the Ukrainian military during a meeting of air force command and representatives of Western arms suppliers, and said its forces do not target civilians.

Residents of Malaya Mochulka knelt to pay their final respects as the funeral procession of a mother and son killed in a recent Russian missile strike drove through the village’s streets this morning

Viktoria Rekuta, 35, and her son Maxim Zharyi, seven, were killed when a Russian Kalibr missile slammed into Vinnytsia on Thursday morning

The pair were visiting a clinic in Vinnytsia at around 10:50am on Thursday when it was hit by a Russian Kalibr missile launched from a submarine in the Black Sea

Ksenia Denisyuk, a friend of Viktoria, said of Maxim (pictured): ‘He was a wonder child, bright and kind…. he could be identified only with a DNA test’

Viktoria is pictured holding Maxim as a young baby. The pair were among 24 killed in the strike on Vinnytsia

A kneeling procession is pictured at the funeral of Viktoria Rekuta, 35, and her son Maxim Zharyi, 7, who died in Vinnytsia in a Russian missile attack

The scenes of grief from the pair’s funeral procession come just one day after another child victim, four-year-old Liza Dmytrieva (left), was buried yesterday after being killed in the strike. Kirill Pyakhin, 8 (right), was the third child who died from his injuries sustained in the explosion

Liza’s death has become a symbol of Putin’s horrific war in Ukraine after images of her blood-spattered pushchair were circulated widely on social media

The tragic footage of Viktoria and Maxim’s funeral procession was filmed by local journalist Irina Lupeshchenko and showed villagers kneeling on both sides of the road as the cortege went past carrying the coffins of the mother and son.

Meanwhile, other images emerged on Sunday evening of the funeral proceedings for Liza Dmytrieva, a child with Down syndrome who was en-route to see a speech therapist with her mother when the missile hit.

‘Look, my flower! Look how many people came to you,’ Liza’s grandmother, Larysa Dmytryshyna, said as she knelt by the four-year-old’s open coffin with flowers and teddy bears in Vinnytsia’s 18th-century Transfiguration Cathedral yesterday.

Liza’s mother, 33-year-old Iryna Dmytrieva, was not killed in the blast but remains in an intensive care unit in grave condition. The family did not tell her that Liza was being buried Sunday, fearing it could affect her condition.

‘Your mommy didn’t even see how beautiful you are today,’ Larysa said to Liza’s lifeless body as she wept at the funeral.

Helena Sydorenko, a long-time family friend, said Liza’s mother Iryna ‘invested a lot of effort in socialising Liza’.

‘She wanted her kid to have a full life,’ Helena added.

When the war started, Iryna and her family fled Kyiv for Vinnytsia, a city some 167 miles to the southwest and well away from the frontlines.

Shortly before the explosion, Iryna had posted a video on social media showing her daughter straining to reach the handlebars to push her own pram as she strolled happily through Vinnytsia.

Iryna’s aunt Tetiana Dmytrysyna said after speaking to her in hospital: ‘[Liza’s] mother was robbed of the most precious thing she had.’

Tetiana added: ‘She remembered that she was reaching for her daughter, and Liza was already dead.’

Liza Dmytrieva, a child with Down syndrome, was en-route to see a speech therapist with her mother in Vinnytsia when the missile hit

Relatives and friends pay their last respects to Liza, a 4-year-old girl killed by a Russian attack, during a mourning ceremony in an Orthodox church in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Sunday, July 17

Liza was among 24 people killed, including 2 boys aged 7 and 8, in Thursday’s missile strike in Vinnytsia. Her mother, Iryna Dmytrieva, was among the scores injured

Iryna’s aunt Tetiana Dmytrysyna said after speaking to her in hospital: ‘[Liza’s] mother was robbed of the most precious thing she had. She remembered that she was reaching for her daughter, and Liza was already dead’

Vinnytsya, 450 miles went of the Donbas front line, is just one of many cities which have been hit in a series of Russian air strikes targeting civilians

Emergency services work next to a damaged building at the site of a Russian military strike, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Vinnytsia

Firefighters together with rescuers, military and the police work at the site of the Russian missile strike in downtown Vinnytsia

Despite the staggering civilian death toll and widespread destruction of residential and administrative infrastructure since the war in Ukraine began, Russia has continued to deny that its military targets civilians.

Putin’s spokesman said today on Iranian TV: ‘Our president, Mr. [Vladimir] Putin has repeatedly stressed that our Armed Forces have a clear order from the commander-in-chief to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties.

‘The [Russian] Armed Forces operate very carefully. They use high-precision weapons and exclude any strikes on civilian infrastructure.

‘Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the Ukrainian side, especially the nationalist battalions and units, which do not shy away from anything.’

Posting on social media after Thursday’s attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote: ‘Vinnytsya. Rocket strikes in the city centre. There are wounded and dead, among them a small child.

‘Every day, Russia destroys the civilian population, kills Ukrainian children, directs rockets at civilian objects where there is nothing military.

‘What is this, if not an open act of terrorism? Inhumans. A killer country. A terrorist country.’

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba meanwhile accused Russia of committing ‘another war crime’.

‘We will put Russian war criminals on trial for every drop of Ukrainian blood and tears,’ he wrote on Twitter.

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