Heartbroken Ukrainian Mom Finds Body Of Her 4YO Son, 26 Days After He Went Missing During Russian Attack

Trigger Warning: This article contains graphic details that readers may find distressing.

More heartbreaking stories are emerging from Ukraine, where a devastated mother has discovered that her toddler has died.

The four-year-old Sasha Zdanovych was fleeing Russian forces on a vessel across a reservoir on the River Dnieper near Kyiv with his grandmother Zoya, 60. The two were believed to be wearing lifejackets but suspected Russian gunfire caused the boat to capsize and killed Zoya. Her body was recovered but baby Sasha seemed to have disappeared.

Sadly, 26 days after the incident, the young child's body has been recovered. His 25-year-old mother, Anna Yakhno had clung on to the hope that her only child might have been rescued by someone somehow. At one point, she wanted to believe a villager might have taken him to their house to hide him from the attacks. At another point, she prayed that he would be safe with refugees who fled to Romania. She even went forward with a desperate search to find him but in vain. The search left her 'totally shattered' and she barely slept through the ordeal.

According to The Daily Mail, she previously explained, "My little son - our only child - was staying with his beloved grandmother Zoya, 60, when the war began. They were in a small village with only two shops and two days after the start of the invasion all the food was gone. The longer they stayed there, the worse it got with supplies and electricity. The three last days before they decided to escape by boats there was no electricity . We were trying to get to them several times, or to get them out by road, but each time we had to turn cars back because of shelling. Trying to escape from occupation, they ventured across Kyiv reservoir [on the Dnieper, also known as the Kyiv Sea] taking two dogs. Connection with them was lost. Sasha's granny was found dead on [March] 11, we could not collect her body, and asked locals to bury her."

Recently, the young mother got the heartwrenching news that her baby had died too. Anna shared, "Today we found Sashenka's [Sasha's] body. I thank everyone who believed, who helped in the search. I thank everyone for your prayers and faith. I thank you for your support. Thanks to you, my little boy has come to meet me. Sashenka, our little angel is already in Heaven! Today his soul has found peace." The post saw tributes pouring in from people, including volunteers who helped with the search.

References:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10691117/Ukrainian-mother-finds-body-son-26-days-went-missing-boat-fleeing-Russians-capsized.html

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