12-year-old Ukrainian girl dies over a week after strike on apartment building
By Catherine Nicholls and Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN
Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) — Tributes are being paid to a 12-year-old girl who died nine days after a Russian strike on her family’s apartment building in western Ukraine last week.
“Her mother was killed, and her sister is still in the hospital. Now Adriana is in a place where there is no fear or explosions – next to her mother, in a quiet and bright place, beyond the reach of war” Serhii Nadal, the mayor of Ternopil, wrote in a post on Telegram Thursday.
Adriana was a “bright, kind” child with “cheerful eyes” who was “loved and appreciated by her classmates and teachers,” according to her school.
Western Ukraine has been spared the brunt of Russia’s aerial assault during the three-year conflict.
But last week, this perception of safety was shattered after Russian strikes targeted two apartment blocks in Ternopil, killing 35 people including seven children, and injuring many more.
Adriana’s family home was one of those struck in the attack.
“Despite all the efforts of the doctors and the sincere hope of each of us, her heart could not withstand the trauma,” her school said in a post on Facebook, writing that her death has “caused pain to our entire school family.”
The large-scale Russian attack last Tuesday was one of the deadliest to target western Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion back in February 2022. The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles during the attack.
A United Nations report published Tuesday found that Russia has “significantly increased” its use of long-range weapons in 2025. Civilian casualties in Ukrainian cities have “spiked” as a result of this, it said.
Another victim of the strikes was seven-year-old Amelia Hrzesko, who was killed alongside her mother Oksana. In a Facebook post commemorating their deaths, Amelia’s school said that the pair were “hugging each other when they were burned alive as a result of an enemy missile attack.”
“Our entire school family mourns this irreparable loss. Amelia, a bright girl, a little angel, will never again sit at her desk, hug her classmates, or warm them with her bright gaze,” it said.
Siblings Kamila and Nazar were also killed in the attack alongside their mother Maria, local media Ternopil 1 reported. The children were five and one years old, respectively. Their father Kamal, who survived the strike, carried a tiny coffin to their funeral, video posted by Ukraine’s foreign ministry showed.
“Kamal is the only survivor of a Russian missile strike on his apartment. In just one moment, he lost his wife and two young children,” the foreign ministry wrote alongside the video. “Russia is waging its war at an unbearable human cost. Its atrocities must be put to an end.”
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