Russian aerial attack in the city of Zaporizhzhia tragically claimed the lives of three generations of the Buhayov family, leaving behind a void that words cannot describe. In the windswept cemetery where they are now buried, teddy bears of all sizes surround the grave of 17-month-old Adam Buhayov. But Adam is not alone; his mother, Sophiia Buhayova, 27, and his great-grandmother, Tetiana Tarasevych, 68, rest beside him.
The family had been out for a walk just an hour before the devastating attack. Tetiana, capturing one of Adam’s final moments on her phone, told him to keep his hat on to avoid the cold. Minutes later, they were home, preparing a meal when a Russian bomb tore through their apartment building, killing them instantly along with six others.
The attack, part of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, devastated the surviving family members. Yuliia Tarasevych, Sophiia’s mother, now faces life without her daughter, grandson, and mother. “I don’t know how to live,” she said, her grief palpable as she visited the graves of her loved ones. Alongside her was Serhiy Lushchay, her husband, who shared in the heartache. They visit the cemetery often, where the rows of graves continue to expand as the city remains a frequent target for Russian forces.
Zaporizhzhia, a strategic city near the front lines and home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has become a symbol of the relentless devastation Ukraine faces. The family had tried to stay safe. Yuliia had even taken Sophiia to the UK at the start of the war. But Sophiia, longing for home, returned to Ukraine, where she gave birth to Adam and worked as a translator for Ukrainian troops. Tragically, their lives were cut short in a split second by the horrors of war.
Yuliia, in her sorrow, refuses to accept calls for peace talks that could leave Ukraine vulnerable to further aggression. She believes that Russia’s unprovoked invasion, which has already claimed too many innocent lives, must not go unpunished. “We will never win if we leave this glutton [Vladimir Putin] with our territories,” she said.
As the world faces the possibility of shifting international attention, Yuliia’s plea is clear: remember the names of those lost, like Adam, Sophiia, and Tetiana, and never forget the civilian toll of a war that has already stolen so much.
