04.08.2026 09:10

Residents of the village of Radushne, near Kryvyi Rih, fell to their knees as the school bell rang out across the local lyceum. It was there that the community gathered to bid farewell to the Voronov family, killed in a Russian missile strike during the night of July 30.

People began arriving at the Radushne Lyceum early in the morning. The Voronovs, who were raising ten children, were known to everyone in the village. Neighbors remember them as kind, warm-hearted people who devoted their lives to their family.

The three eldest children—Aurika, Matvii, and Danylo—have families of their own. Aurika lives in Germany, Matvii in Poland, while Danylo serves in an artillery unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On the night of the attack, those at home were the parents, Olena and Artem Voronov; their children—Mark, Dominika, Zakharii, Azarii Ilai, Federika, Emilia, and Viorika; and their one-and-a-half-year-old grandson, Artem, the son of their eldest son, Danylo.

A missile launched by Russian forces reduced the family’s home to rubble. Five members of the Voronov family are still officially listed as missing.

“OUR SON IS GONE”

Five coffins were placed in the courtyard of the lyceum—for Olena and Artem, and for three of their children: Emilia, Azarii Ilai, and Mark. The remains of the other family members will have to be identified through DNA testing.

People formed a living corridor of remembrance. Some carried flowers, while others brought stuffed animals.

The family’s eldest daughter, Aurika, traveled from Germany to say goodbye to her parents and siblings. She stood beside her brother Danylo, his wife, and Iryna, the mother of little Artem.

Iryna recalled that Artem’s grandparents adored their grandson and always asked that he be brought to visit as often as possible.

“They would say, ‘At least bring him for a week.’ It turned out that week was his last,” said Iryna Bolhar.

Iryna lives in Mykolaiv, where Artem had been due to start kindergarten. She learned of the tragedy from Danylo.

“My former husband called me and said, ‘Our son is gone.’ His body still hasn’t been found,” she said.

She added that Danylo’s current wife loved Artem dearly and cared for him as though he were her own child.

Iryna is also raising their six-year-old daughter. She has not yet found the strength to tell the little girl that her brother is gone.

“I’m afraid to tell her. I’m afraid of traumatizing her. It’s hard enough for adults to bear, let alone a small child. Right now, I’m holding myself together only for her,” she said.

“WE HELD ON TO THE HOPE THAT AT LEAST SOMEONE HAD SURVIVED”

Four of the Voronov children attended the Radushne Lyceum. Federika had just completed the third grade and was preparing to enter the fourth. Azarii Ilai and Zakharii were due to begin the sixth and seventh grades, while Viorika was about to start the ninth.

The school’s principal, Tetiana Usenko, said all four children were active students who took part in academic, creative, and sports competitions and attended extracurricular clubs.

Usenko has led the school since 2021. She recalled that when she first became principal, Olena Voronova worked as a storekeeper in the school’s cafeteria.

“We spoke often. Later, she was offered a position as an economist with the local Department of Education and accepted it. Olena had always wanted to pursue a career in accounting,” Usenko said.

She knew Emilia and Federika especially well because they attended one of the school clubs she supervised.

“They were such kind, sweet girls,” she recalled.

Usenko remembers that Emilia always took every drawing she made home because it was important for her to show them to her parents.

“We held on to the hope that at least one member of the Voronov family had survived. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. They were part of our school family. Today, the last school bell will ring for these children. In September, it should have marked the beginning of a new school year. Instead, today it tolls for dreams that will never be fulfilled, essays that will never be written, and a love they will never have the chance to discover,” the principal said.

On the night of the tragedy, Usenko was away from Radushne. She learned of the attack in the middle of the night when acquaintances called to check whether she and her son were safe.

“It was a shock. They told me missiles had struck the village and hit someone’s home directly. I started messaging my colleagues, and that’s how I learned it was the Voronov family. I kept hoping until morning that there would be good news, but there wasn’t,” she said.

MARK WAS ABOUT TO TURN 18

Seventeen-year-old Mark will forever remain a fourth-year student at the Polytechnic Professional College of Kryvyi Rih National University. He dreamed of becoming a locomotive engineer or an assistant locomotive driver.

“He was studying railway transport. His father worked in the energy sector, so I asked him why he had chosen railway transport instead of electrical power engineering. Mark told me he wanted to work on the railway,” recalled his instructor, Tetiana Vynohradova.

She described Mark as a polite, thoughtful young man who was always striving to improve himself.

“When Mark first enrolled, he was earning mostly 7s and 8s. Over time, he became a straight-A student and received a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement. He was always willing to help whenever anyone asked. He will forever remain a fourth-year student,” she said.

Mark would have turned 18 on August 20.

The funeral service for the family was held at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Villagers say the Voronovs were devout Christians. They were laid to rest in the local cemetery.

Fragments of human remains were recovered from the ruins of the family’s home. Forensic experts must now determine whether they belong to Zakharii, Dominika, Viorika, Federika, and little Artem through DNA analysis.

According to the local settlement council, the identification process could take up to two months.

For the Voronov family, today’s farewell was, tragically, not the last. Until the remaining family members are identified, more funerals still lie ahead.

Reported by Olha Zvonariova

Photos by Dmytro Smolienko

(C)UKRINFORM 2026