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Prosecutor General's Office: Family of 5 killed in Kharkiv attack, mother was district prosecutor

by Elsa Court and The Kyiv Independent news desk February 10, 2024 11:23 PM 2 min read
A photo shared by the Prosecutor General's Office of the family killed in a drone attack on Kharkiv on Feb. 9, 2024. (Prosecutor General's Office / Facebook)
This audio is created with AI assistance

A woman who worked as a district prosecutor, her husband, and their three young children were among those killed in a Russian drone attack on Kharkiv late on Feb. 9, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Feb. 10.  

The attack struck a gas station in Kharkiv, creating a fire that engulfed 15 homes and killed at least seven people. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov later reported that 57 people had been injured in the attack and declared Feb. 11 as a day of mourning in the city.

The Prosecutor General's Office said the woman, identified as Olha Putiatina, was a prosecutor who had worked at the District Prosecutor's Office in Chuhuiv, a city in Kharkiv Oblast, since 2012. She was 35 years old.

The couple's three sons were named Oleksii, aged 7, Mikhailo, aged 4, and Pavlo, aged 10 months, according to the Prosecutor General's Office.

"The entire staff of the prosecutor's office expresses sincere condolences to the family and friends."

The other two people who had been killed were also a couple. According to Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police, their son has provided a DNA sample for their official identification.

In an earlier update, Bolvinov reported that it was "impossible to identify the body of the baby at the scene. The burning temperature was such that the bones and the baby's body almost turned to ashes."

DNA samples taken in the morgue have been sent to a mobile DNA laboratory to confirm the identities of the bodies, according to the police.

The police said that based on the evidence collected from the site, the fire was caused by the detonation of three Shahed-type attack drones, launched from Russia.

Official: Body of 8-year-old girl found on site of Russia’s morning strike against Kharkiv
The girl was likely the daughter of a woman previously found dead under the rubble of an apartment building damaged in the attack, according to Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police.
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