A Young Ukrainian woman was killed while returning after delivering food to a dog shelter just outside Kyiv. Young Ukrainian volunteers were delivering food to Bucha, which is about 18 miles outside of Kyiv. Anastasiia Yalanskaya was one of three volunteers. All were reportedly shot and killed by the Russian troops.
Yalanskaya's car was found riddled with bullets nearby the home of one of the men she was volunteering with. Her last Instagram story showed her in the back of the same car, smiling, sitting beside bags of dog food. The shelter where the volunteers were delivering the supplies had gone for three days without any food when they made the trip. The circumstances around their death, however, were not clear.
Yalanskaya's friends and family claimed that Russian troops deliberately targeted her car at close range. Her husband, Yevhen Yalanskyi said that he had asked her to be 'extra cautious.' She was not ready to evacuate because she wanted to help everyone around.
The Volunteers had Almost Returned Home When they were Attacked
The volunteers had delivered the dog food and were almost home when they were attacked. Russian troops have reportedly increased attacks on civilians at random to scare the population into submission. The town of Bucha has been in the crosshairs of Russian attacks and shellings for quite some time.
'She Loved Animals'
Yalanskaya's body is kept in a morgue in Bucha because no one can get through as the fighting is so intense, one of her friends told Global News. The friend also noted that the damage to Yalanskaya's car indicated it was fired at close range with a heavy weapon.
"She was one of the best human beings I knew. She was committed to helping. She loved animals. We had a dog and a cat. She was the best partner I ever had," Yalanskyi said. Yalanskaya and Yalanskyi were separated, but they were on good terms. Yalanskyi is currently in Sri Lanka.
The United Nations Human Rights Mission monitoring the war in Ukraine said that it has recorded 752 civilian casualties as of March 1 ever since the invasion began on February 24. On March 2, Ukraine's State Emergency Service claimed the death of at least 2,000 civilians in the war.
