A Ukrainian doctor who specialised in treating paediatric cancer was killed by a Russian missile that hit Ukraine's capital on 12 October. The family of Oksana Leontieva on Thursday gathered at her graveside to remember the 36-year-old doctor.
The recent wave of attacks across Ukraine has once again brought home the harsh realities of war to many cities.
Ukrainian Doctor dies in missile strike
On 12 October, Leontieva got her five-year-old son Gregory dressed, took him to school and then got in her car and headed to work before she was brutally killed by one of the 84 missiles that Russia fired.
Ohmatdyt Hospital, the pediatric medical centre where she worked, had confirmed the details of her death in a statement.
“This young woman was a true professional and supporter of her patients and colleagues,” the hospital wrote. “She was a selfless and responsible person and doctor.”
According to Dr Volodymyr Kovalchuk, the victim's 5-year-old son is now an orphan. His father died six months ago, and his mother was killed by a Russian missile.
"It’s a horrible pain. A Russian missile killed our doctor, a pediatric oncologist-haematologist, who worked at Okhmatdyt. Her 5-year-old son is left an orphan. His father died six months ago”, he posted.
They said her car was burned to the ground in the centre of Kyiv and Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said Gregory is now in the care of his grandfather.
Leontieva had worked in Okhmatdyt’s bone marrow transplant unit for 11 years, saving the lives of children with blood cancer.
“Every day, Oksana saved children with cancer, gave happiness to parents and life to children. Her life was cut short by terrorists who daily destroy our country and kill civilians,” Kateryna Zahorna, her colleague, wrote on Facebook.
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