THEY are the human cost of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
From newborn to decades older, both civilian and military, these are some of the probable thousands to have been killed by the Russian tyrant’s missiles, by his troops – or to have given their lives fighting to defend their land.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said the Russian invaders have killed more civilians than soldiers: “I want this to be heard not only in Kyiv but all over the world.”
The United Nations said on Thursday it had recorded 1,506 civilian casualties since the war erupted on February 24, including 549 deaths. The real toll is thought to be much worse, according to the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Most civilian casualties were caused by weapons with a wide impact such as heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems.
The Commissioner’s spokesman said the UN “believes actual figures are considerably higher, especially in [Ukraine] government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed.”
Here we highlight the photos and the tragic personal stories of just a handful of those who have lost their lives due to Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
Yevhen Malyshev had put aside his ambition to ski for his country to join the military. The 20-year-old died on March 1, while fighting the Russians
Valeriy Chybineyev was commander of the sniper battalion of the 79th Air Assault Brigade and killed on his 34th birthday on March 3
Valentina Pushich “Romashka” was a legendary battlefield medic in the 72nd brigade, killed by a Russian shell on March 6
Natasha Derkach worked as an animal welfare officer and was killed by shelling in Dnipro, south-central Ukraine, at her veterinary clinic
Alisa Hlans died aged seven in a cluster bomb attack on a preschool as her grandfather tried to shield her from harm in Okhtyrka, in the north-east
Natasha Perakov killed in action on February 28, she was the first female fighter pilot to lose her life in the war, at the age of just 28
Volodymyr Kovalsky lost both of his legs serving in the Ukrainian army in 2015 and was killed in the battle for Bucha on February 27
Maxim Kozachyna was a chaplain in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and shot in Kyiv by Russians as he returned unarmed to his family
Arseniy Hit in the head by shrapnel, the 14-year-old bled to death because an ambulance could not navigate through intense fires
Fedko family Dad Oleg lost his wife, Anna, two young children and both his parents as Russian troops opened fire on cars in southern Ukraine
Yulia Zdanovska died during the bombing of Kharkiv. The 21-year-old was respected as a world maths competition champion
Major Stepan Choban has been hailed a hero after the pilot “distracted enemy aircraft” over Kropyvnytskyi, central Ukraine
Anastasia Stoluk died aged 10, shot by “drunk Russian soldiers” in front of her uncle as they blasted houses at random in a village near Kyiv
Artem Pryimenko won a wrestling medal at 16. He was killed in an air strike on Sumy. His two brothers, mother, father, grandmother also died
Valeria (Lera) Maksetska was 31 when she, her mother Irina and driver Yaroslav were hit by tank fire near Kyiv as they drove to a chemist
Volodymyr Nezhenets volunteered to join the Ukrainian forces. The 54-yearold child psychologist was led into gunfire by saboteurs
Shri Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar was 22 and queueing for food in Kharkiv when the Russian army opened fire on March 1
Anastasiia Yalanskaya was killed at the age of 26 with two others last Friday, delivering food to a dog shelter in Bucha, near Kyiv