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Governor: Russian soldiers in occupied Kherson Oblast killed boy in front of his family

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Governor: Russian soldiers in occupied Kherson Oblast killed boy in front of his family
Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin poses for a photo after a literary event in the heavily-shelled city of Kherson on Nov. 7, 2023. (Asami Terajima/The Kyiv Independent)

Russian soldiers in occupied Kherson Oblast took a Ukrainian boy off the street and shot and killed him in front of his family, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in a press conference on Dec. 22, cited by Suspilne.

Prokudin said that, according to preliminary information, the soldiers may have thought the boy was taking a picture of something, so they seized him, brought him home, and shot him while his family watched.

Kherson Oblast's Prosecutor General's Office said that an investigation into the incident was being opened in coordination with regional police.

More than 500 children have been officially reported as being killed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, although the true number is likely significantly higher.

At least dozens of children have been killed by small-arms fire at close range.

Deliberate murders of Ukrainian children by Russian soldiers reveal culture of impunity
Editor’s Note: The story is based on the documentary “Bullet Holes,” published by the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit. On a cold March morning, the Mahdyk family bundled themselves into their minivan. Their village near Kyiv was occupied, and they couldn’t bear staying there any l…
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Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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