When Ilona Tripolets ran outside last week as a Russian missile attack hit Ukraine’s central city of Kryvyi Rih, she instantly realized her nine-year-old little brother German, who was at the playground, had been killed.
Tripolets, who is 20 years older than the boy and lives nearby, said German had earlier stepped out to play.
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Within seconds of an explosion, she ran outside with her father.
“I immediately knew that it was the end,” she said.
“My mum looked out of the window... I screamed,” she said, tears running down her face.
German Tripolets was one of 20 people killed in a Russia attack on Kryvyi Rih last Friday. Eight other children were killed in the strike. The youngest was three years old.
German’s family gathered around his coffin in a Kryvyi Rih church for his funeral Monday, with women shaking as they held on to candles and caressing the boy’s face.
The playground that was hit, made up of typical swings, seesaws and climbing frames, was covered with flowers and toys.
“I adore him. He is our angel. He gave us almost 10 happy years and then he left,” his sister Ilona said.
German’s parents gave birth to him when they were in their 40s.
“He was such a beloved child, he was not spoilt but he was so cool,” his elder sister said.
‘He was just gold’
“We saw it from the window,” German’s godmother who lives nearby, Inna, told AFP.
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“He was playing at the playground, he had friends there.”
She repeated several times that “we are all safe, we are all safe, but the child is gone”.
Inna said that German loved Lego and cars, and often went for trips with his father.
She described him as a “golden child” and a “sweetheart”.
Ilona Tripolets said her parents were dedicated to the boy, having chosen to have have him later in life to grow their family.
At another church in the city, another funeral was taking place Monday, that of seven-year-old Radyslav Yatsko, killed in the same strike.
The wooden church was packed for the service.
A couple held on to each other in silence, with one man having a visible injury on his head.
A bright photograph of the blonde-haired boy was displayed near his coffin.
Despite the children’s deaths and the damage to residential blocks, Russia said on Monday that it does not target civilians in Ukraine. Its invasion has now dragged on for more than three years.
The UN called Friday’s attack “reckless disregard” for civilians by Russia.
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