Kharkiv, the father does not leave his dead 13-year-old son’s hand on the street

Russian troops opened fire in the Saltivskyi district at Kharkov, in eastern Ukraine, killing three civilians, including a 13-year-old, and one person injured. The head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, reported via Telegram, writes Ukrinform. And the heartbreaking photo of the father of the boy killed in the attack, kneeling next to his dead son, went viral.

The man, clearly desperate, squeezes his 13-year-old son’s lifeless hand, crying. At one point a policewoman arrives, wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest, and tries to comfort him by holding his hand. Among the injured is the man’s 15-year-old daughter. The man was waiting with his two children for the bus at the bus stop near the mosque.

“The persistence of the war continues to increasingly endanger the lives of Ukrainian children, imprisoned and displaced in the country, or refugees in those of arrival.” This is Unicef’s complaint.

“More than 15.4 million people are fleeing, mostly mothers and children, including more than 6.3 million displaced people in Ukraine and 9.1 million refugees in neighboring countries. There are also more than 3 million minors in Ukraine and 2.25 million refugee children in the countries of arrival who are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,” said Andrea Iacomini, spokesperson for UNICEF in Italy.

“There are at least 11,544 civilian casualties – he adds – including 5,024 people killed and 6,520 injured, of which nearly 1,000 are minors: 343 children killed and 533 injured so far, with the actual number likely much higher.”