{"id":277590,"date":"2025-04-09T04:56:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T04:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/where-ukrainian-children-once-played-piles-of-toys-memorialize-the-dead\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T04:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T04:56:13","slug":"where-ukrainian-children-once-played-piles-of-toys-memorialize-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/where-ukrainian-children-once-played-piles-of-toys-memorialize-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Ukrainian Children Once Played, Piles of Toys Memorialize the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/09\/multimedia\/09ukraine-strike-1-ljwq\/09ukraine-strike-1-ljwq-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Where Ukrainian Children Once Played, Piles of Toys Memorialize the Dead\" title=\"Where Ukrainian Children Once Played, Piles of Toys Memorialize the Dead\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their lives intersected around a playground on a sunny Friday evening in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kostiantyn Novik, 16, had come with his cousin to hang out with friends. Serhii Smotolok, a 57-year-old welder, was nursing a beer nearby on the terrace of a restaurant, unwinding after his workday. Radislav Yatsko, 7, was sitting in the back seat of his parents\u2019 car as they drove past the playground, headed home from an afternoon at their country cottage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an instant, the lively scene turned to carnage: A Russian missile struck near the playground, raining shrapnel that tore apart everything in its path.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kostiantyn and his cousin were killed instantly, Kostiantyn\u2019s leg torn off by the blast. Mr. Smotolok was struck by missile fragments and bled to death on the terrace. Radislav died as shrapnel blew off part of his skull.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverything was covered in blood,\u201d said his father, Rodion Yatsko. He begged the medics who arrived shortly after to save his son\u2019s life. \u201cThen one man came to our car, looked inside and said, \u2018It\u2019s over.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-small css-1189og3 e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\"><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-13ytnnu ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Radislav Yatsko, who was killed when Russia struck near a playground in Ukraine.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Yatsko family<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/04\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-strike-zelensky-hometown.html\" title=\"\">attack last Friday killed 19 civilians, including nine children<\/a>, making it the deadliest strike against children since the beginning of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ukraine.ohchr.org\/en\/T%C3%BCrk-denounces-Russian-attack-which-leaves-nine-children-dead-in-Ukraine\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to the United Nations<\/a>. The assault, the worst on Kryvyi Rih during the war, sent shock waves across Ukraine, which <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/06\/world\/europe\/ukraine-kyiv-attack-russia.html\" title=\"\">declared a day of national mourning on Sunday<\/a>. Western allies expressed their solidarity, with embassies in Kyiv lowering their flags to half-staff that day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For residents of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the attack was a painful reminder that after three years the war is still grinding on, despite <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/26\/world\/europe\/russia-ukraine-us-peace-talks.html\" title=\"\">ongoing cease-fire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia<\/a>. Moscow continues to send volleys of missiles and drones into Ukrainian cities far from the front lines, despite the risk to civilians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russia\u2019s defense ministry <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/mod_russia\/50918\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">claimed<\/a> that the strike had killed 85 Ukrainian and Western military officers gathered at the restaurant near the playground. But security footage reviewed by The New York Times showed that the restaurant had been filled with women attending a beauty industry event, and employees were cleaning up the room just minutes before the attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey simply murder children and civilians,\u201d Anna Yatsko, Radislav\u2019s mother, said on Sunday, on the eve of her son\u2019s funeral. \u201cThere were no soldiers, only civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAll the talks about a cease-fire are just empty words,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city of 600,000 about 40 miles from the front lines, has been struck regularly by Russian drones and missiles. Two days before Friday\u2019s strike, a missile killed four residents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amid the hardship, residents yearn for moments of joy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When 16-year-old Kostiantyn asked his aunt and legal guardian, Liubov Svoroba, if he and his cousin could hang out with friends at the playground, she hesitated but eventually agreed. The two teenagers enjoyed escaping the shadows of war there, often working out on rudimentary, colorful sit-up benches and chest-press machines scattered across the sandy terrain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey said they just wanted to go for a walk and see their friends,\u201d Ms. Svoroba, 65, said. \u201cAs soon as they got there, the explosion happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-small css-1189og3 e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\"><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-13ytnnu ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Serhii Smotolok was nursing a beer on the terrace of a nearby restaurant when the missile struck.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">via Olga Yaroshenko<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">From her apartment a few blocks away, Olga Yaroshenko, 66, saw a huge plume of smoke and dust rising from the playground. Her first thought was of her partner, Mr. Smotolok, the welder who was drinking beer at the restaurant. They had been together for eight years, finding love later in life. They were saving money for a new car \u2014 Mr. Smotolok\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Ms. Yaroshenko rushed to the strike site, she saw the bodies of a woman, a teenager and several children, some already covered with blankets by medics. \u201cThe whole area looked like a field of corpses,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThere were cries, screams \u2014 it was unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the chaos, she could not find Mr. Smotolok and clung to the hope that he had made it out safely. Then her phone rang, his number flashing on the screen. \u201cI felt relief \u2014 \u2018He must be alive!\u2019\u201d she recalled thinking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She answered the phone, only to hear a stranger\u2019s voice: \u201cThis is the investigator speaking. Serhii Heorihiyovych died today,\u201d a police officer told her, using her partner\u2019s patronymic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Sunday, the area around the playground still bore scars of the carnage: bloodstains on the pavement, a piece of human flesh on a restaurant chair. Nearby buildings had shattered windows, and a deep crater created by the missile\u2019s impact gaped a few yards from the playground.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It remains unclear exactly what type of weapon Russia fired at the park. The United Nations, which sent a team to inspect the area, and the local authorities believe that Russia used an Iskander ballistic missile that exploded several meters above the park, showering the area with shrapnel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Yatsko, Radislav\u2019s father, said their family was so inseparable that he used to think if a missile or drone ever struck, they would all die together. At least, he said, \u201cno one would suffer\u201d the pain of losing a loved one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But on Friday, only Radislav was killed. His parents, his 8-month-old sister, Adelina, and his great-grandmother \u2014 all of whom were in the car when the missile struck \u2014 survived with concussions and scratches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Yatsko had given birth to Radislav after struggling for years to get pregnant. When he arrived, she said, he \u201cmade everything so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He loved animals, spending hours at the family\u2019s cottage collecting cockroaches, lizards and butterflies, when he was not rescuing hedgehogs from busy streets. At a school memorial on Monday, one of his teachers said she had never heard a boy speak with such tenderness about his little sister. When Ms. Yatsko was pregnant with Adelina, she said, Radislav would kiss her belly every night before bed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At his funeral on Monday, Ms. Yatsko, wearing a black bandanna to represent her mourning, gazed at her son\u2019s face as he was carried in an open coffin into a small wooden Orthodox Christian church. A gray hat concealed his head injury. A red scar running from his forehead to his bruised right eye was the only sign of trauma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s not him! It\u2019s not him!\u201d Ms. Yatsko cried, then muttered Radislav\u2019s name three times, as if trying to wake him from a long sleep. Before burying him, his parents tucked a plush animal between his arms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the days after the attack, makeshift memorials sprang up across the park, with stuffed toys, candy bars, roses and candles covering benches, swings and teeter-totters where some of the children died. By Monday evening, the largest pile, nearly chest high, stood in the center of the playground, concealing a merry-go-round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Yatsko said she longed for a life where children could run and play freely. \u201cBut for now,\u201d she said, \u201ceven a children\u2019s playground is not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/09\/world\/europe\/ukraine-kryvyi-ri-attack.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Their lives intersected around a playground on a sunny Friday evening in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine. Kostiantyn Novik, 16, had come with his cousin to hang out with friends. Serhii Smotolok, a 57-year-old welder, was nursing a beer nearby on the terrace of a restaurant, unwinding after his workday. Radislav Yatsko, 7, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/09\/multimedia\/09ukraine-strike-1-ljwq\/09ukraine-strike-1-ljwq-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1388,169,190796,195815,64454,13318,3890,10894,1130,9292,164579,34139,8774],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277592,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277590\/revisions\/277592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}