“Hanno sparato in faccia alla vicina. Suo figlio giaceva accanto a lei. E anche il mio.” – Olha, la cui intera famiglia è stata giustiziata dai soldati russi il 20 ottobre. Anche lei è stata colpita al volto, ma il proiettile le ha attraversato la guancia

On October 20, Russian soldiers in the village of Zvanivka, Donetsk region, shot an entire family. Two sons and the husband of Olha were killed. She was the only one who survived – a bullet hit her in the cheek and exited through the other side.

She told Suspilne that on that day, Russian troops entered the village and were inside their home within five minutes.

**Warning: sensitive content.**

>“At first, they kept asking where the Ukrainian soldiers were. They pointed a rifle at my husband and said: ‘Choose – your husband or your son.’ I swore on the Bible that I hadn’t seen any Ukrainian soldiers and didn’t know where they lived,” said Olha.

According to her, Russian soldiers held the family at gunpoint all day. Around 7:30 p.m., they said they were leaving – but a few minutes later returned and opened fire. Olha’s 61-year-old husband Oleksandr and her 37-year-old son, also named Oleksandr, were killed. The bullet that hit Olha went through her cheek and exited.

When she regained consciousness, she took a knife and came out of the cellar.

>“I wanted to stab at least one of them in the stomach so they’d shoot me. I wasn’t afraid. I went out and screamed. Then I realized I was alone in that part of the village, no Russians, no Ukrainians” 

Her younger son, 32-year-old Volodymyr, had gone to fetch water that morning. Olha found him later in another cellar – dead, alongside their neighbor and her son, who had also been shot by the Russians.

>“They shot the neighbor in the face. Her son lay beside her. And mine. I lifted his hand – it was waxy, like a doll’s. I said, ‘Forgive me,’ prayed, and left,” Olha said.

She decided not to stay in the village. For 12 hours, she walked under shelling and across mined fields until she reached relatively safe territory. There, she received first aid and was taken to a hospital.

The head of the maxillofacial surgery department, Oleksii, said that Olha arrived at the hospital on October 21 and underwent surgery the next day. She will need five more operations. Her psychological condition is severe.

[https://suspilne.media/dnipro/1146680-edina-hto-vizila-pisla-rozstrilu-rodini-vijskovimi-rf-mediki-dnipropetrovsini-prooperuvali-olgu-z-doneccini/](https://suspilne.media/dnipro/1146680-edina-hto-vizila-pisla-rozstrilu-rodini-vijskovimi-rf-mediki-dnipropetrovsini-prooperuvali-olgu-z-doneccini/)

Heartbreaking.

It won’t be enough but there needs to be detailed records kept to go after these monsters for decades to come. I want agents snatching up Russian soldiers who committed war crimes while they are on vacation in Italy in 2040.