A 7-year-old Ukrainian girl died in a 'cluster bomb' attack on a school by Russia as her grandfather desperately tried to shield her. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's wife, Olena, informed on Monday that Russians were 'consciously and cynically' murdering children in Ukraine.
Olena noted that Alisa Hlans, 7, was one of the six people who died when her kindergarten in Okhtyrka was targeted by Russians. Alisa's grandfather had been trying to save her from the blast. After the devastation caused by the cluster bomb at the kindergarten, pictures showed bodies strewn around the entrance as the staff tried to escape the scene with the children.
Alisa's grandfather was killed in the shelling on the scene while she died in a hospital a day later. Another child hiding at the nursery was wounded in the attack. Okhtyrka, where the kindergarten was located, is an hour's drive from Ukraine's northeast border. Alisa is said to have died three months before her eighth birthday.
Deadly Cluster Bombs
Russia is accused of using the deadly cluster bombs to target civilian areas in Ukraine. A cluster bomb is an explosive weapon, which, once launched, releases or ejects smaller submunitions. It can be airdropped or ground-launched. Cluster bomb, more commonly, ejects bomblets on being launched, that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles.
Despite multiple images and footage of the devastation caused by cluster bombs doing rounds on social media, Kremlin has denied the claim. Olena, in her long Instagram post, noted that at least 38 children have been killed in Ukraine since the war started.
'Close the Sky Over Ukraine!'
Posting heart-breaking images of deceased Ukrainian children, Olena called upon Russian women to show their husbands, brothers, and compatriots those images "Let them know that they are personally responsible for the death of every Ukrainian child because they gave their tacit consent to these crimes," she wrote.
Appealing to NATO to establish a 'No Fly' zone over Ukraine, she said, "To NATO countries: close the sky over Ukraine! Save our children, because tomorrow it will save yours!"
