Who was Olga Semidyanova? 'Hero' Ukrainian mom-of-12 killed while fighting Russian troops
A combat medic mother-of-12 has died on the front line fighting Russian troops. A weapon in her hands, Olga Semidyanova died as she battled Russian forces at a time when most of her unit had already lost their lives.
Semidyanova, 48, was hit in the stomach during a fight near Donetsk in the south. Her distressed family is waiting to bury her as her body could not be recovered due to continued battles in the area. “She saved the soldiers to the last. We have photos from the place of death — but due to heavy fighting we still can’t bury my mother," her daughter, Julia, reportedly said.
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Who was Olga Semidyanova?
Not much is known about fighter Semidyanova, except that she lived in the city of Marhanets about 150 miles from where she died. She had previously been awarded the title Mother Heroine, which moms who have more than five children receive. Besides her six own children, Semidyanova had adopted six children from her local orphanage.
The Ukrainian government paid their tribute to the mom. “She was slain in a confrontation with Russian thugs," Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the country’s Interior Ministry, reportedly said. "Even when she believed her regiment might not survive, she emphasised her desire to protect the country until the end. She is a national hero. She is a hero to me.”
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin hit a new low after Russian troops bombed a theater said to be sheltering up to 1,200 people, with the word 'children' written outside the building. The Mariupol Drama Theatre was being used to house people and shelter them from shelling, with meals being provided. Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to mayor of Mariupol, said the theater's shelter was "the largest in number and size shelter in the city center."
Mariupol has witnessed constant shelling, leading to around 20,000 Ukrainians fleeing. Reportedly, an estimated 2,300 citizens have been killed in the area. Satellite images reportedly showed that the word 'children' was written in visibly large white letters in Russian outside both the front and back of the building. Rescuers are now searching for survivors. The number of casualties is still unknown.
"The theatre building served as shelter for hundreds of Mariupol residents who had lost their homes as a result of Russian armed forces bombing and shelling the city," Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The bomb strike demolished the central part of the theatre building, causing large numbers of people to be buried under the debris. The assessment of the exact number of persons affected is currently impossible due to ongoing shelling.By delivering a purposeful bomb attack to the place of mass gathering of civilians Russia has committed another war crime. Putin’s regime has long since crossed the line of humanity."