Mourning A Victim of Violence

Each victim of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has a face and a story.

Each killed person has dozens of relatives and loved ones. The losses leave a gaping hole in entire communities.

On September 6,7, Moscow launched its largest aerial assault of the full-scale invasion. You might be feeling you’ve read that sentence a few times over the spring and summer — it’s because Russia keeps breaking its own records.

A Mother and Baby

In the early hours of Sunday September 7, Kyiv’s defence measures were breached when Russia launched the largest drone attack in the history of the war, a record 810 drones and 13 missiles damaging a government building for the first Time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and killing a mother and her 2-month old baby.

Her name was Viktoria Hrebeniuk. She died with her 2-month-old baby son, Roman. Viktoria was thirty-two. She was a Program Director for the charity “100% Life,” which provides support and treatment to HIV-positive patients and those with tuberculosis, hepatitis, and other illnesses. She started work in 2014.

Neighbours said the mother and child were literally thrown out of a sixth-floor window. The baby’s father survived but suffered severe injuries.

Viktoria and family’s apartment

Sorrow

Her colleagues and friends expressed deep sorrow. “It’s hard to find the words, because tears fill my eyes from the injustice and helplessness. I will never forget her support, wise guidance, jokes, and professionalism,” wrote Yulia Melnyk on social media.

Yaroslava, a writer I follow, describes the life of Ukrainians: “We live during the day and die at night.”

Angelica Shalagina lives in Kyiv. She wrote this on September 7^th following the attack. Her poetry sums up the terror of every night in Ukraine.

Morning in Ukraine

 I’m alive.
But tonight felt like dying.

 806 Shaheds.
13 missiles.
Most aimed at Kyiv.

 Explosions all night.
Direct hits.
Debris falling everywhere.

 2 killed in Kyiv.
20 wounded.
Homes destroyed.
Cars burning.

 I was lying in the corridor,
counting seconds,
Thinking – maybe this is it.

 Every night feels like dying.
And every morning,

I wake up to survive it again.

This terror must be stopped.

God created every person in the divine image. To this end the ancient rabbis commented that had Adam been struck down, none of his descendants would ever have been born. A whole world would have been lost. Conversely saving Adam’s life meant saving all his descendants. The rabbis concluded anyone who destroys even one life has in effect destroyed an entire world. And anyone who saves a single life, it is as if they have saved an entire world.

Let’s save worlds together.

More stories about Sergei, Maryna, Vika here and Roma here.

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