Russian occupiers shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who was trying to escape the war with his mother. He had to be buried twice. This is the story of 13-year-old Yelisei Ryabokon from Brovary. In the photo on the left is an ordinary schoolboy. On the right is the hat he was wearing, riddled with bullets and shrapnel, along with his white soccer jersey, which he wore over his jacket to show that he was a civilian. On March 11, 2022, Yelisei’s family tried to escape from the village of Peremoha, already occupied by russian forces. As they were driving, russian soldiers initially waved to them, as if wishing them a safe journey. Then they opened fire on the cars carrying civilians. Yelisei’s mother and younger brother were in one car, while Yelisei was traveling in another. The first vehicle exploded after being struck by a shell. People scrambled out of the cars and tried to hide. “I was pulling the little one by his hood,” his mother, Inna, recalled. She hoped her older son was still alive. When she was finally allowed to return to him, she realized he had died instantly. He was lying on the back seat, curled into a small ball. His mother barely survived and managed to pull her younger son out of the gunfire. At first, Yelisei was buried in a vegetable garden in the village. Only later was his family able to bring his body home to Brovary and bury him properly. They never opened the coffin. His father, Yevhen, who serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, never had the chance to see his son one last time. His mother wants the world to know what russia has done in Ukraine and to remember every murdered child. Those who knew Yelisei remember a calm, polite boy who was always smiling. Source: translated from the original text by Oleh Bairak.