The Ukrainian couple - Viktoriia and her husband Bohdan, who lived on Zhylianska Street in Kyiv - were found dead in each other's arms, along with their cat.
Since Russia launched attacks on Ukraine in February, the war, now in its eighth month, has claimed thousands of innocent lives. Many women and children have succumbed to the war. Viktoriia Zamchenko was one of these people, per Kyiv Independent. Seven months pregnant, the woman was killed by a Russian drone that hit her home on October 17. The Ukrainian couple — Viktoriia and her husband Bohdan, who lived on Zhylianska Street in Kyiv — were found dead in each other's arms, along with their cat. She worked as a sommelier in the Good Wine store chain. "It is a very dark day for our company today. Today, we lost Vika, our sommelier, an incredibly kind and sympathetic person, a part of our family," Good Wine wrote in an Instagram post, in condolences for their employee.
According to the business, Viktoriia has been a sommelier for six years at their Kyiv location on Mechnykova Street. She was due to go on maternity leave in December. Good Wine described her as a strong woman who loved wine and her job. "She was the only woman in the department, but she never showed weakness; difficult tasks or challenges did not exist for her. She genuinely loved wine and her job," the company said.
The company expressed that they're heartbroken. "They been waiting on the baby. We were madly in love with Vika. Sure you loved it too," they wrote. "Finding the right words is hard. But let's say Vika's phrase that she kept repeating: "you should feel less sorry for yourself." This is how strong we will remember her. Forever," they concluded the post.
Other than what has already been posted on social media, the company told Ukrainska Pravda that they have nothing else they can say. "It hurts a lot," Good Wine said. Vika, who had been interacting with customers in one of the businesses just a few days prior, was recognized by Ukrainians in the comments. "I do not believe my eyes… Talked to Vika a few days ago. Accidentally saw the photo and got goosebumps… How can this be real???" Another user commented that she chose wine for them just a day before this. "She helped me choose wine just yesterday, and today this. My condolences."
A drone targeted a central Kyiv location about an hour after another drone hit the same site, in what appeared to be a “double-tap attack,” a tactic that aims to kill emergency workers responding to the first strike.https://t.co/bYQAvKKgxc
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 17, 2022
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, began an offensive against the Ukrainian capital on October 17, which resulted in many explosions that shook the city's center for the second time in a week. Kyiv was struck four times by the early morning attack, according to Ukrainian officials. They stated that the assault, which targeted the main train station and demolished a residential structure, began around 9 am local time. When Iranian-made Shahed-136 "suicide" drones attacked the country's energy provider in the Shevchenkiv region, air raid sirens went out.
In the Shevchenkivskyi neighborhood, rescuers searched for the wreckage of an apartment building that had partially collapsed during one bombing for survivors. The road was closed off while many firefighters and other emergency services worked at the scene. Vika was one of the four people whose bodies were found inside the structure. Mayor Vladimir Klitschko described the Russian attacks as a "genocide of the Ukrainian people", saying, "The Russians need a Ukraine without Ukrainians."
References:
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1582081239485657088
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/17/7372347/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63280523
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj0hB9vIpjF/
Cover Image Source: Instagram | @goodwine
