Ukrainian Man Discovered Wife & Kids’ Deaths Only Through Heartbreaking Twitter Photo
As the Ukraine-Russia conflict persists, residents of the former country continue to attempt to flee to safety.
Unfortunately, on 6 Mar, a bombing in Irpin, a city in Ukraine, resulted in many casualties among individuals who were trying to evacuate to Kyiv.
Victims included a mother and her 2 children, none of whom made it out alive. It wasn’t until he saw a photo of the casualties on Twitter did the husband and father identify his wife and kids, making the tragedy all the more devastating.
Ukrainian father recognises family from Twitter photo
In an interview with CNN on 17 Mar, 43-year-old Serhiy Perebyinis shared how he first saw reports on Twitter about a bombing in Ukraine that killed a family.
He later came across a photo on the same platform taken by a New York Times photographer which displayed lifeless bodies.
That was when he realised that the family reported to be killed was his.
Mr Perebyinis told CNN that when he saw the photo, he “recognised my (his) children, their things, and their clothes.”
At that point, he called his friends to inform them and asked them if they could help to find his wife.
According to The New York Times (NYT), Mr Perebyinis’ wife and 2 kids were fleeing Irpin and had to cross a broken bridge. A volunteer was reportedly accompanying them as well.
En route to Kyiv, however, a Russian bomb landed and unfortunately killed many people, including the family and the volunteer.
Suspected something wrong after wife’s GPS pinged at hospital
Mr Perebyinis told NYT that when Russia invaded Ukraine, he was staying in Eastern Ukraine to take care of his ill mother.
Regrettably, he was away from his wife Tetiana and 2 children, 9-year-old Alisa and 18-year-old Mykyta.
In a video interview with CNN, Mr Perebyinis shared that both he and his wife had been using Google geolocation to locate one another’s whereabouts.
However, on that fateful day, he noticed an “unusual geolocation” pinging from his wife’s phone. The location turned out to be a hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Immediately, he “suspected that something was wrong” and asked his friends to visit the hospital to check on the situation.
Ukrainian husband apologised to his wife via phone call
Somehow managing to get in touch with her, Mr Perebyinis shared with CNN that he had apologised to his wife the night before she passed away.
In between tears, he recalled telling her to “forgive me (him) that I (he) couldn’t defend you (her).” His wife reportedly assured him not to worry and that she “will get out”.
Following the tragedy, Mr Perebyinis told NYT that he felt it was important for his family’s deaths to be recorded.
He added that “the whole world should know what is happening here (in Ukraine).”
Our thoughts go out to bereaved families
Being apart from family is already difficult, so we can only imagine how heartbroken Mr Perebyinis must have felt.
As upsetting as it is to think about, this is but one story of families that wars have destroyed.
Let’s hope that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will stop soon, so no more innocent lives will be lost.
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Featured image adapted from The New York Times.
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