Little Arina was found living with her grandparents in a dilapidated apartment building in Bakhmut, which has been rammed by Russian forces
Ukrainian police this week carried out a dangerous rescue mission in the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine to remove a six-year-old girl who had been separated from her pregnant mother.
Little Arina found herself living with her grandparents in a dilapidated apartment building in Bakhmut, which has been rammed by Russian forces.
After trudging through the snow to reach Arina, amid the sounds of artillery fire in the background, police officer Pavlo Dyachenko and two colleagues drove the little girl to the nearby town of Sloviansk to be reunited with her mother, Halina Danilchenko.
“A shell went off in our yard!” Arina, holding a large white bear, told her mother after they hugged. “I heard that a shell exploded in your yard, that’s why I was so worried,” said 24-year-old Halina Danilchenko, who is eight months pregnant. The family is among the millions of displaced people who have been forced to flee their homes since the Russian invasion on February 24 last year.
Dyachenko stated that there are still about 200 children living in Bahmut. Before the war, about 70,000 people lived in this city, but according to officials there are now a few thousand residents left.
“We are meeting the families who are still there and talking to them, trying to get them to agree to move, either the whole family or the children. Because children should live in a peaceful environment,” he told Reuters.
The policeman had to coax Arina into leaving Bahamut behind, explaining the dangers of staying there.
“Are there any other children you can play with here?” Dyachenko asked the little girl after Bahamut spotted her. “No,” she replied and began to cry.
“You’re supposed to be in a safe place. Do you understand that?” asked another policeman. “Do they shoot and shell a lot here?” Arina nodded her head.
Then one of the officers put an orange helmet on her head, explaining: “This is for when we go outside, so nothing can hit your head.” The police officers and the girl then exited the building to the sound of gunfire, got into a waiting vehicle and drove off to take her to safety.
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