A Ukrainian girl who lost an arm in a Russian attack that killed her dad says she hopes Putin’s troops ‘didn’t mean to hurt her’.
The youngster, named Sasha, is now in hospital recovering after Russian soldiers gunned her family as they fled a Kyiv suburb.
Her dad was slaughtered when Russian troops opened fire on their car, with the rest of the family racing for cover and then hiding in a cellar.
Sasha, who was injured in the attack, was taken to a nearby hospital a couple of days later by brave volunteers waving a white flag.
She said: “I don’t know why the Russians shot me. I hope it was an accident and that they didn’t mean to hurt me.
“I was shot in the arm. I ran after my sister. My mum she fell over. I thought it was the end. But she was not dead she was just sheltering from the gunfire. She was hiding.
“Then I lost consciousness. Someone carried me to a cellar. I was given some treatment there. And then some people carried me on a towel to the hospital.”
Surgeon Dr Vladislav Gorbovec was forced to amputate Sasha’s left arm above the elbow in order to save her life after he discovered gangrene.
Dr Gennadiy Druzenko, of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, said Sasha, her sister and her mum sheltered in a cellar for two days while the war raged on above them, MailOnline reports.
The nine-year-old girl slipped in-and-out of consciousness and became delirious as infection took hold from her open wound.
While in their makeshift bunker, Russian soldiers tried to break in, shooting at the door and yelling at those inside to come out.
She finally found sanctuary at the Central Irpen Hospital – which was also under gunfire – after brave civilians carrying a white flag carried her through the warzone.
But Sasha’s life-changing ordeal and amputation isn’t unique in war torn Ukraine, the doctor said.
Several other children have also suffered “terrible injuries” – with all of them losing at least one parent, if not both.
A nurse who treated Sasha said she thanked medics for saving and caring for her and refused to cry even after her horrific ordeal.
The only thing the youngster asked for was a pink-coloured artificial arm covered with flowers, the nurse said.
Heavy exchanges of gunfire and airstrikes continued in Ukraine’s besieged capital today.
The suburbs of Gostomel, Irpin and Bucha, which lie in the city’s northwestern suburbs, have become the frontline for the battle of the heart of Ukraine.
Moscow ordered troops to storm these towns, hoping that enough force would see Kyiv topple quickly and lead to the country’s capture.
Source: dailynet.co.uk
