Hanna è stata sepolta oggi. Fu uccisa dallo sciopero russo sulla ferrovia per bambini di Kharkiv, dove lavorava.

*Translator’s note: A Children’s Railway in Ukraine is a special kind of educational miniature railway operated by children under adult supervision. These railways are real, functioning but very narrow-gauge and short lines and are designed primarily for hands-on training and education, but also for fun. School-age children, usually from about 10 to 16 years old, serve in roles such as conductors, ticket agents, announcers, and even apprentice train drivers and station managers. The ride is usually through parks, which makes this a wonderful outing for anyone who likes riding trains.*

On June 10, Hanna Demenkova, Acting Head of the Children’s Southern Railway, was buried in Kharkiv. She was killed in a russian airstrike using KAB bombs on the railway on June 7. She had been appointed to the position just two weeks prior.

The strike claimed a second victim – in the night of June 8, a 62-year-old man died from his injuries. He had worked at the Children’s railway until 2022 and was retired.

The farewell was reported by the head of the board of “Ukrzaliznytsia,” [Ukrainian Railway] Oleksandr Peretsovskyi:

“We spoke with the students of the Children’s Southern Railway. Spoke seriously, like adults. It’s not easy for them right now: for many, she was like a second mother, and Volodymyr Kovtun, who was also killed by a Russian KAB, was like a kind railway grandfather,” the message said.

“She was our treasure. She worked here as an instructor, then for a time as deputy head. And now she had been appointed here to serve as acting head of the railway,” said her coworker, Viacheslav Cherpak.

[https://suspilne.media/kharkiv/1039533-u-harkovi-poprosalisa-z-pracivnikami-ditacoi-zaliznici-aki-pomerli-cerez-rosijske-vlucanna-7-cervna/](https://suspilne.media/kharkiv/1039533-u-harkovi-poprosalisa-z-pracivnikami-ditacoi-zaliznici-aki-pomerli-cerez-rosijske-vlucanna-7-cervna/)

Remember her kind heart and her giving joy to the children.

I have no words, bless Hanna for her kind and gentle soul. She deserved so much better.