Ukrainian Children Recover in Lviv Hospital After Russian Attacks

Ukrainian children wounded in Russia’s invasion were recovering from their injuries in a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 19, Current Time reported.

Among the young patients the news service visited were Veronika, 10, from Vuhledar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, and Kira, 15, from Kharkiv.

Veronika was left in a coma after an attack on the high-rise residential building where she lived, Current Time said. Shrapnel pierced her skull and ripped off her left thumb, while her right hand was partially paralyzed.

Therapists are helping Veronika to walk again. Her family, who neighbors said used their bodies to shield her, died in the attack, Current Time said. The footage shows Veronika blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

Teenager Kira was hit by shelling and her friend was killed while they were walking in a park in Kharkiv. “My friend was immediately unconscious and another girl was breathing heavily,” Kira said, according to an English translation provided by Current Time. “I was the only one who realized what was happening, but I didn’t understand that we were being shelled.”

Kira had shrapnel wounds and underwent surgery. She was hoping to travel abroad for further treatment.

At least 259 Ukrainian children have been killed and 402 injured in Russian attacks since the invasion began in late February, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Credit: Current Time via Storyful