THE FACE OF HOPE
A teacher pictured with bloodied bandages around her head on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has escaped to safety. Teacher survives first day of invasion to flee Poland
The image of Olena Kurilo, 52, was on front pages across the world, making her a symbol of the human cost of war.
Sources close to Olena confirmed she left her home in Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, on March 18 and is now in southern Poland.
A source close to the family said: “She wants to be the face of peace, not of war.”
On the morning of February 24, Olena’s building was hit by a Russian rocket causing a serious injury to her eye as glass shattered across the room.
The mother of one spent three-anda-half weeks cowering in the rubble of her bui lding as Russian and Ukrainian forces battled in the village.
The insider said: “She knew she needed to leave as soon as possible to get treatment for her eye but it was a choice between keeping her eye and keeping alive.”
She also had to endure Russia’s lies, as propaganda alleged she was an “actress” and the photo was taken from a gas explosion in 2018.
Her daughter Katerina, a screenwriter and blogger, has been using Instagram to dispel the fake news.
In one photo, Olena stands with a bandaged eye holding up her passport to prove she is real.
The source said: “They want to get through to the Russians so they open their eyes. Olena wants them to understand this is not a game, it is not a movie. This is real.”
Olena arrived in Poland with Katerina this week and is receiving vital medical treatment at a specialist clinic.
Her husband Mykola, 54, has stayed behind to help his local community.
The pair join about 2.2million refugees that have fled to Poland since the start of the war. In total, 3.8million have fled the country.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden, on a trip to Warsaw, said Poland was taking a “significant” responsibility in the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The horrific toll of
the war also became clearer yesterday as it emerged up to 20,000 civilians may have been killed in the bombing of the Black sea city of Mariupol.
The city’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, said he had spoken to France’s ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians. French president Emmanuel Macron said he would propose to Russia a plan to help people leave.
In the 31 days since the start of the Russian invasion 136 chi ldren had been killed, Ukraine’s office of the prosecutor general said.
The governor of Kyiv region, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, also said Russian forces have taken control of the town of Slavutych, where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live.
Residents unfurled a large Ukrainian flag while shouting “Glory to Ukraine” in protest, causing the forces to fire into the air and throw stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Vladimir Put i n has announced the war was entering “phase two” – suggesting he may focus his attention on the eastern Donbas region after military failures on all fronts.
Last night, the Russian army was on the brink of losing the only major city under their control.
Ukrainian forces in the south had launched a major counter- attack against Russia military in Kherson.
The fight was continuing yesterday amid claims the Russian army was suffering from poor morale and a shortage of food and ammunition.
An adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister said the country’s troops could recapture the south eastern city, where residents have been protesting about the Russian occupation.
The loss of Kherson would be a major blow to Putin, who wanted to create a so- called land bridge from the Crimea peninsula to the disputed Donbas region in the east.