A mum who was photographed gripping her daughter’s hand as they sprinted for their life from Russian shelling revealed the story of their miraculous escape for the first time yesterday.
Kateryna Tytova and Tajisia, a five-year-old girl, were photographed and featured on the top page of a British magazine.
“Please escape…we can weep later,” Kateryna told Tajisia among the ruins and sound of conflict.
“We were sprinting, pulling the kids,” the 35-year-old continued. ‘Faster, faster!’ we said.
“Houses were on fire all around us.” I was conscious of a shell landing close in my clouded vision, among the ear-shattering cacophony and dread.
‘Don’t look over, don’t look!’ yelled a soldier.
“Ten yards away from us, a mother and father and their daughter were dead in the road.” They had been struck directly by the shell as they rushed for their life beside us.”
Jewellery-maker “I have never been so afraid,” Kateryna continued. I didn’t think we’d be able to make it.
“I had no idea our photo would be on the first page of a British magazine.” But thank you, Britain, for being concerned about us.”
Kateryna was still dressed in the exact clothing she wore when she fled Hostomel, Ukraine, with her husband Olexandr, 35, and son Makar, 10.
They are currently residing with friends in Vinnytsia, in the war-torn country’s western central region.
Kateryna described how they were forced to flee Donestsk in the east in 2014 when pro-Russian rebels seized control of the disputed Donbass area.
They settled in Hostomel, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
But on February 24, the first day of tyrant Vladimir Putin’s invasion, her family’s existence was shattered once more.
His war machine swooped down on Hostomel’s strategically vital airport and launched a murderous attack.
“Our internet was the first thing to vanish, then the electricity,” Kateryna explained. Outside our house, the Ukrainians constructed a barricade.
“We were on the front lines of combat in the blink of an eye.”
By the 28th of February, crowds had formed in the nearby streets.
“Burned-out military vehicles were everywhere,” Kateryna recalled, still in amazement.
“It made me think of zombie apocalypse horror films.” The bodies on the ground, on the other hand, were not from a movie or a video game.
“The shelling became more intense until a shell landed in our courtyard one morning.
“All of the windows were destroyed by the explosion. As though we were on a boat, the edifice swayed back and forth. My legs felt like they were made of jello. “The youngsters were in a state of complete terror.”
The family snatched up all they could, dreading having to say farewell to their cat and two dogs with tears in their eyes.
“Everything around us seemed like it was bursting as we crept out of the home on our hands and knees,” Kateryna added. The earth was trembling.
“We were encircled by trenches piled high with military equipment, guns, and dead.”
“We hunched over as we ran,” Olexandr, a biology teacher at the school, told The Sun. We took refuge in courtyards and half-completed mansions.
“There were fires in the buildings. I pretended we were superheroes on a mission. Our powerhouse was on the move.
“We arrived at Butcha after 5 kilometres. However, power, gas, and water were also delivered there.
“On March 5, one family attempted to flee town by car. They were ordered back by the troops, who then opened fire on the back of their vehicle. Their 16-year-old daughter passed away in an instant. She had been a student in my class.”
The next day, the family headed off via wilderness, back alleyways, and train lines in the direction of Irpin. “We walked for 10 kilometres,” Kateryna remarked. The kids pleaded for a break.
“We continued yelling at them, ‘We can’t stop!'”
“Then a minibus came to a stop. Despite the fact that it was already full, they took us. We got as far as the Teteriv River’s ruined bridge.”
On tiny boards, they had to create a temporary river bridge. Bullets flew high in the air, while shells rained down from the sky.
Soldiers yelled for people to go, and Kateryna and her daughter were recorded in a photograph that appeared on the top page of The Sun on March 7.
“Tajisia was crying,” Kateryna continued. We noticed another bus after another 100 metres. The bombardment continued unabated.”
