Andriy Dubchak: Ukrainian journalist covers HORRIFIC killing of mom & kids in Russian shelling
Tatiana Perebeinis, a Ukrainian mother, was killed alongside her two children in Irpin on Sunday, March 6, when Russian forces indiscriminately fired at them while they were fleeing. Andriy Dubchak, a Ukrainian journalist and the founder of Donbas Frontliner, covered the story.
43-year-old Tatiana was found lying dead on a roadside in Irpin, around 15 miles from Kyiv, with her 9-year-old daughter Alise, and 18-year-old son Nikita. The 28-year-old man traveling with them, identified as Anatoly from Lugansk, was unconscious and severely wounded, but did not survive. "Russians purposely hit by mortars on the bridge over which people try to leave Irpin. An hour of the top in front of my eyes the family died. The girl, the boy, the mom. The man suffered very serious injuries," posted Dubchak on his Facebook.
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Another post from the photojournalist said, "It's not an army, they are killers. In video and photo - Russian troops are deliberately targeting the civilian population trying to get out of Irpin. That's a fact! A real documented fact! As everything can be seen just from the houses of Irpin. A woman, a boy, a teenage girl died in front of my eyes, a man was seriously injured. Probably it was a whole family..."
Dubchak spoke to CNN about the incident and his coverage of it. "Now the whole world knows about this crime - hundreds of millions of people. I hope this will somehow help Ukraine stand up. My project Donbas Frontliner (Instagram: @donbas.frontliner) is doing its job effectively. But I'd rather not have this video," he captioned his post.
The 35-year-old is an award-winning photographer and journalist from Kyiv. He founded Donbas Frontliner, an independent media outlet based in Ukraine and is reporting on the escalating military tensions with Russia. He has worked for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service since 2003. He received a Lovie Award for his coverage of the Maidan protests in 2014, and won a Gold Medal in the 'Life Press Photo' competition in 2020.
Sergey Perebeinis, Tatiana's husband, made a post for his family saying, "He took them all. Tanya couldn't make it. What is this all me for? What's next? I'm on my way... I must see you one last time. Forgive me, I didn't cover you." Sergey also posted images of their dogs and said, "My good friend flew to them now. I found him, he was waiting for me. Eleven years of emotions you gave us, there was hope that at least someone would stay." As per reports, he was still in Donetsk when his family died and is trying to make his way to Kyiv to bury them.
"We are devastated to say that yesterday our dear colleague and friend Tatiana Perebeinis, the chief accountant of SE Ranking, was killed together with her two kids by Russian mortar artillery. The family was trying to evacuate from Irpin – a small city right near Kyiv that has been left without water supply, electricity, and heating. There are no words to describe our grief or to mend our pain. But for us, it is crucial to not let Tania and her kids Alise and Nikita remain just statistics. Her family became the victim of the unprovoked fire on civilians, which under any law is a crime against humanity. The russian army are criminals, and they should be stopped. Our hearts are broken. Our prayers are for all Ukrainians, who are fighting for their right to exist," read the statement of SE Ranking, the company Tatiana used to work for.
"We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war. On our land. We will find every bastard. Which shot at our cities, our people. Which bombed our land. Which launched rockets. Which gave the order and pressed start. There will be no quiet place on this Earth for you. Except for the grave," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an address on Sunday, March 6.
