- November 12, 2024
- 9:23 pm
- Ukraine
This story shocked the hearts of Ukrainians. At that fateful moment when a Russian ballistic missile flew into their home in Krivoy Rog, 32-year-old Elena Kulik was feeding her 2-month-old baby. Her older children, Kirill and Demid, who were 10 and almost 3 years old, were playing nearby.
The tragedy claimed the lives of all the children and their mother, leaving the fatherMaxima, alone and in deep grief. Maxim Kulik lost his entire family in a matter of minutes – his 32-year-old wife Elena and his 3 children.
“May the Almighty avenge the blood of all the murdered children”
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Azman, expressed the common pain of the country:
“May the Almighty avenge the blood of all the children killed by the Russian army!”.
These words, as if saturated with bitterness and sorrow, convey the collective loss and suffering of everyone who has faced loss.
When war crime becomes the norm
From the very morning of November 11, 2024, the aggressor launched a missile attack on Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk region. The occupants hit the five-story building with a ballistic missile. In a high-rise building in Krivoy Rog, apartments from the first to fifth floors of one of the entrances were completely destroyed.
Russia continues to deliberately destroy civilian homes, exposing civilians to mortal danger. As eyewitnesses and a friend of the Kulikov family said, Maxim survived by chance because he went into the kitchen, where he was thrown to the floor below as a result of the impact. He could no longer return, as the building collapsed. According to eyewitnesses, rescuers were able to find the bodies of Elena and two children only 14 hours later, and the youngest child even later.
| Age of children | What happened at the moment of impact |
|---|---|
| 10 years (Kirill) | Played next to my mother |
| 2 years 8 months | Was near my mother |
| 2 months | In mother's arms |
This tragedy once again serves as a reminder of how Russian forces flout all international law by pointing their missiles at civilians, an already brutal policy in Putin's war against Ukraine. A powerful missile attack on a residential building in the center of Krivoy Rog is not an accident, but a deliberate crime, which the Russian leadership justifies as military necessity. But how can the death of a baby sitting in the arms of its mother be justified?
A story that destroys souls
A family friend, photographer Alexander Degtyar, shared his bitterness, remembering the positive and cheerful Kulikov family: “For Maxim and his wife, children were the meaning of life… Now he is left without a family and cannot talk to us.” Maxim and Elena were an example for many, engaged in volunteer activities, helping the homeless and other people in need during the pandemic.
According to NAnewsthe destructive effect of Russian attacks is felt at every step, but for Maxim it became a personal tragedy that will never end.
Silence in grief and waiting for justice
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky commented on this horror, saying that without international support and weapons to protect citizens from terror, Russia will continue its attacks:
“Russia will not stop without strong decisions and powerful support”.
Each missile strike on residential areas destroys not only buildings, but also the lives of people who built their homes, raised their children and hoped for the future.
International human rights organizations are reviewing (?) all facts of such crimes in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, as many emphasize, justice alone will not be enough to drown out the pain and sorrow that the Russian army brings to Ukrainian families.
The horror of war: when every house is a target
Today, when every Ukrainian house can become the next target of Russian forces, we understand that every human moment may be the last. This tragedy symbolizes all the meaninglessness and destruction that war brings to the lives of civilians.
And let the words of Moshe Azman be heard:
“May the Almighty avenge the blood of all the murdered children!”
Leave a comment in Telegram – NAnews channel↓
