A tearful mother held her four-year-old daughter’s little hand for the last time after her heart was pierced by shrapnel from one of Putin’s missiles.
Nadiia Rostochyl and her husband Viacheslav buried little Zlata in a coffin filled to the brim with flowers, dolls and teddy bears.
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The child was buried in Odesa, in southern Ukraine – a city that Russia has relentlessly attacked with airstrikes in an attempt to decimate the important port city.
On Sunday, an entire community came together to mourn the loss of Zlata, whose heart gave out after she fought bravely for almost a month to stay alive.
His mother was photographed clutching her hand to the side of the small coffin and looking into her eyes that would never open again.
Zlata’s hometown was bombed with illegal ballistic missiles and cluster munitions on April 29.
The attack destroyed a university building and the Odesa Law Academy, nicknamed “Harry Potter’s Castle”, killing eight people and injuring more than 30, including another child and a pregnant woman.
Footage of the attack showed Odesans watching in horror as historic buildings collapsed and burned and firefighters frantically tried to save victims.
Local student Maria said at the time: “Before my eyes a missile was shot down, that was right in front of me.
“My doors opened and the glass shook. And then I saw this.”
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Last month, the UN said around 600 children had been killed and 1,350 injured since the war began 27 months ago.
Moscow has been accused of deliberately targeting Ukrainian children, especially through the illegal deportation of children to Russia.
Last year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for war crimes against children.
In Kharkiv, another frontline city and focus of Russia’s new offensive, The Sun watched a Ukrainian soldier marry his girlfriend before heading off to fight.
The number of couples getting married in the bombed region rose 11% to 10,977 as troops fear they will not be able to return.
This comes as Ukraine carries out its deepest drone strike ever, 1,120 miles inside Russia.
The attack targeted radar systems and even buzzed close to Putin’s £1bn palace fortress on the Black Sea as it hit nearby infrastructure.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
