When 12-year-old Kira Obedinski, who was orphaned because of the warShe was taken from her hometown of Mariupol to a hospital in a Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine, not sure if she would see the rest of her family again.
She is now in Kyiv in a hospital bed with her grandfather Alexander Obedysky – and a few days ago she spoke to CNN for the first time about what she went through.
Kira, continues to recover from injuries that nurses say were caused by shell fragments on her face, neck and legs. Her scarred face and introversion are signs of the physical and psychological trauma she has suffered.
The orphanage
The Obedinski family has been torn apart by this war. Kira’s father, Evgeny Obedisky, a former leader of Ukraine’s national water polo team, was killed on March 17 as Russian forces bombed the city. Kira was orphaned at that time, as her mother died when Kira was two weeks old.
A few days after the death of her father, Kira was taken to a hospital in the Donetsk region by Russian-speaking soldiers after being injured by a mine.while trying to leave Mariupol with her father’s partner.
“The Russian army came running, stopped two cars and took us to a hospital because we were bleeding. “Then they took us to another hospital in Donetsk,” Kira said.
Speaking to CNN earlier this month from Kyiv, Alexander’s grandfather said he was afraid he would never see his granddaughter again because it was almost impossible for him to travel all over the war-torn country to meet her.
The reconnection
He said he spoke to the hospital where Kira was being treated and was told he would eventually be sent to an orphanage in Russia. Their reunion, more than a month after the last time they had seen each other, was organized by negotiators from Ukraine and Russia.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Kira in hospital to celebrate her return and gave her an iPad to spend her time as she recovers.
Her grandfather told her what he had told him Zelensky that Kira was “tired but happy” and thanked him for the safe return of his granddaughter. “Nobody thought it would happen, but thank God we did,” he told CNN.
Kira’s return from Moscow-backed separatist territory has not been easy. Following the media coverage of her condition, the Ukrainian government told her grandfather that they had reached an agreement that would allow him to travel to Donetsk to pick up his granddaughter, but this was not an easy task.
Undaunted, Alexander started immediately following the instructions for one exhausting four day trip: Took a train to Poland, a flight to Turkey, a second flight to Moscow, followed by a train to the southern Russian city of Rostov, to finally reach the tearful Kira after another car trip to Donetsk.
Grandfather and granddaughter fell into each other’s arms and did not part for a moment, during the reverse and equally long journey back to Kyiv.
For Kira, her grandfather is the only living person with whom she has a blood relationship. And it was very positive for her psychology that they were reunited, especially since she was alone in the Donetsk hospital, without any acquaintances close to her.
“I do not know how much time has passed. I waited too many days for him to come and pick me up. I missed him a lot “ mentioned the little girl.
The painful memories
Her description is shocking about what she experienced in its ruins Mariupolhow she was injured and for her treatment.
“I was transported to Donetsk by ambulance at night and the same night they removed the fragments from my body. From my ear. “I was screaming and crying because I could feel their manipulations in my ear,” he recalls.
Kira remembers the bombings, the loud noises and the collapse of her family home. The family was trapped in the half-destroyed cellar, from where neighbors pulled her, her father’s partner and her children out of the rubble. However, her father did not succeed.
The survivors hid in another shelter for three days, before attempting to escape, running. Unfortunately one of the children kicked a mine while running, causing an explosion. Most of the thrust was absorbed by the unfortunate family dog, but Kira was injured, as were other members of the team.
Despite their injuries, they tried to continue, but Russian forces located them and took them to the hospital in the city of Manchus. The group then split, with Kira ending up alone and scared in a Donetsk hospital.
Now, the girl feels safe with her grandfather, although the war is still raging in the country.
Source: News Beast
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