For many years, bouqunistes in Kyiv save books from rain and cold. Each of them has their own story — someone lost a teacher’s job in the harsh 1990s and someone came to work here after retiring. When the Russian invasion begins, they are left with questions about Russian heritage, imperial myths, and their past.
The Russian military has already killed more than 500 Ukrainian children during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Dozens of them were shot at close range with small arms. Among them were 10-year-old Kateryna Vinarska in Kharkiv region, 12-year-old Vladyslav Mahdyk in Kyiv region, and 15-year-old Mykhailo Ustianivsky in Kherson region. The Kyiv Independent's findings point to the systemic and deliberate nature of child murders by the Russian military in Ukraine. Our in-depth investigation allowed us not only to establish clear circumstances of the murders but also, in one instance, to identify those responsible for the killing of a child.
