A pregnant woman and her husband, killed in Kiev by what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian “kamikaze” drone strike were inseparable, like “yin and yang”, a close friend of the couple told CNN .
“These people loved life,” Anna Petrukova said of Victoria Zamchenko and her husband Bohdan, both 34, who she described as a “wonderful couple”.
“They had a lot of plans — they dreamed of their own home, kids, a complete family, travel. They had very big plans for this life,” Petrukova said.
The Zamchenkos died at home in their Kiev apartment on Monday after a flurry of Russian-launched and Iranian-made “kamikaze” drone strikes, according to Ukrainian officials.
Victoria Zamchenko was six months pregnant with the couple’s first child.
Drones have played a significant role in the conflict since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, but their use has increased since Moscow acquired new drones from Iran over the summer.
Unlike more traditional, larger, and faster military drones that return to base after launching missiles, “kamikaze” drones are designed to collide with a target and explode, detonating its warhead and destroying the drones in the process.
The Ukrainian military and US intelligence say Russia is using Iranian-made attack drones. US officials told the CNN in July that Iran began airing Shahed series drones to Russia at Kashan airfield south of Tehran the previous month.
In August, US officials said Russia had purchased these drones and was training its forces to use them. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has ordered 2,400 Shahed-136 drones from Iran.
The Zamchenkos are among at least five people killed in Russian drone strikes in Kiev on Monday, which sent shockwaves across the Ukrainian capital, damaging residential buildings and burying civilians under rubble. At least three people died in separate attacks on Tuesday.
Petrukova, who was in phone contact with Victoria Zamchenko just minutes before her death, said the first drone strikes on Monday had trapped the couple in their apartment.
“They could no longer leave the house because there was an impact on the [usina térmica] straight ahead,” Petrukova recalled. “So they were sitting in the hallway.”
“Her last message was at 8:18 [quando] she heard two more hits. After that, obviously, there was a fifth. And the connection to her was lost.”
Petrukova added that the couple were considering leaving the city after the windows of their apartment were blown up in an attack last week.
Victoria Zamchenko returned to Kiev in August from her hometown of Rinve in western Ukraine. She had lost her job as a sommelier at a local wine shop, Petrukova said.
“She was a cheerful, highly intelligent, soulful, funny and profound person,” Petrukova said of her friend. “We always had something to talk about and something to be silent about.”
Together since university days, the Zamchenkos were “inseparable,” like “yin and yang,” Petrukova said.
“It is impossible to imagine them separately. They always held hands, always embraced. There was a lot of tenderness and warmth between them. It was always a pleasure to be around them. They were fun people.”
Ivana Kottasová, from CNN contributed to the report.
Source: CNN Brasil
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