Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Olena Kurilo, a 52-year-old teacher who was injured when her Chuguiv home was bombed, is speaking out after images of her bloodied face became symbolic of the Russian attack on Ukraine and its civilians.
“The house is completely destroyed, there are no windows, no doors, one door even flew out. Even the floor has been completely ripped off,” she continued.
Olena Kurilo.Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency/Getty
“I am just very lucky, I must have a very strong guardian angel for me to have stayed alive. I will stand up and go, I will do everything for Ukraine, as much as I can, with as much energy as I have. I will always only be on my motherland’s side,” Kurilo added.
“Never, under any conditions will I submit to Putin. It is better to die,” she said via AFP and theTimes of Israel, adding, “I was in shock, I felt no pain,” after explosions rocked her neighborhood.
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In addition to those who’vedied and were woundedin the war, thousands more people have fled or tried to escape Ukraine amidwarnings of a possible “refugee crisis.”
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Various countries have also pledged aid or military support to Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for peace talks and urged his country to resist.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called “peacekeeping.”
“The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine,” PresidentJoe Bidensaid as the invasion began in force.
source: people.com
