Girl posts horrible video on instagram of how Russian soldiers gunned down her mom and the soldier trying to protect them

I’m issuing a content warning because the video does show dead people on the ground in Ukraine.

I also want to point out that I don’t speak Russian so I am posting this based on the translation of others. I’ve checked the translation myself and it’s about as close as it came be with something like Google Translate.

In the video a girl in Ukraine named Karolina, who was traveling with mother in Kharkov, was attacked by Russian soldiers and her mother was shot in the head and killed. Another soldier was there trying to protect them but was also killed. Based on what she wrote on Instagram on a separate post, I believe she’s saying the soldier trying to protect her and her mother was also Russian.

Here is a translation from a native Russian speaker on Reddit:

On 24 February, around 10-11 hours we ended up here. Here is the body of my mom, and here is the body of the soldier who was attempting to protect us. Then Russian soldiers starting shooting us. I was laying down right here *points where she was laying down. *points to road There were russian tanks and Russian soldiers over there and Russian soldiers started shooting. Well here we came with my father trying to get home.

At first the translator thought the soldier was Ukrainian. But now it looks like she’s saying the soldier was Russian.

Below is the video.

And another content warning in case you missed it above.
 

I didn’t find the video on her Instagram account. It must have been deleted. But I did find a separate one where she was crying and wrote whole the story down, asking people to share it. I’ll post the entire text in Russian below a translation from Reddit. And I’ll add the translation from Google Translate.

Here’s a partial reddit translation of her account on Instagram. The translator says it was indeed a Russian soldier trying to protect her:

From what I gather, the dead soldier is a Russian soldier who was trying to prevent friendly fire.

Source: the following translated text from a post made by the victim on her Instagram

It was a Russian soldier

We went to the city to withdraw money and buy food, returning home at the exit from Kharkiv, Russian tanks blocked the road, they fired at our car, we turned into a dead end and jumped out of the car, two guys jumped out to meet us, Russian soldiers, young, 18-20 years old .. who could barely held their weapons. …. We stayed there for 15 minutes, then they started shooting at us .. My mother was wounded in the arm, I heard her scream in pain .. And at that time a soldier threw me to the ground and shouted many times do not shoot … They are ours … He yelled at the Russian soldiers, don’t shoot.. Heavy shooting began.. A dead soldier fell on me.. The second one was also shot… But my mother was silent… I got up and understood that she was dead.. She was hit in the head. .. I was left alone. They were shooting all around me, I grabbed my papers, etc. I hiding behind an iron booth…

Below is the original. If someone knows Russian and can validate this, I would appreciate it hearing from you.

Сегодня российские военные убили мою маму, человека, котрого я любила больше своей жизни…утром начали обстрел нашего посёлка, взорвали военную базу, ударной волной меня откинуло от окна, шатало дом, электричество пропало.. Мы выехали в город снять деньги и купить еду, возвращаясь домой на выезде из Харькова российские танки перекрыли дорогу, нашу машину начали обстреливать, мы свернули в тупик и выскочили из машины, на встречу нам выскочили два парня русские солдаты, молодые,лет 18-20..которые и оружее еле держали….. Минут 15 мы отсиживались, потом по нам началась стрельба.. Маму ранили в руку, я услышала как она закричала от боли.. И в это время меня кидает солдат на землю и кричит много раз не стреляй… Это свои… Он кричит русским солдатам не стреляй.. Начинается сильный обстрел..Мёртвый солдат падает на меня.. Второго тоже подстреливают… А мама молчит… Я поднимаюсь и понимаю, что она мертва.. Ей попали в голову… Я остаюсь одна… Вокруг стреляют, я хватаю документы и прячусь за железную будку… Папа в это время едет из Киева на всех скоростях ещё не зная, что мама убита а я прячусь, чтобы меня не убили… Я просидела полтора часа за этой будкой боялась двигаться… Спустя время я слышу что выстрелы прекратились и я ползу к машине и забираю с собой простреленного солдата.. Разворачиваю машину по бардюру и гоню на всей скорости с места обстрела…. Так я осталась без мамы, без Ирины Перлифон котрую так многие любили и уважали.. И котора была для меня большим примером в этой жизни, человеком, который никогда никому плохого не сделал, очень добрая и целеустремленная моя любимая мама.. Я это сейчас пишу и просто рыдаю на взрыв.. Я не верю… Я не знаю как я выжила, как я сбежала и спасла человека… Но маму спасти я не смогла……. У меня телефон разрывался от звонков.. Я вам честно скажу, когда я лежала на замеле среди пуль и мёртвых людей я понимала, что я умру… Это не сказка, и не те новости что вам показывают, у нас в городах Украины происходит настоящий ад… Это даже не 2014…это АД…Военные России убивают мирных жителей Харькова!!

Here’s the Google Translation:

Today, the Russian military killed my mother, the person whom I loved more than my life … in the morning they started shelling our village, blew up the military base, the shock wave threw me away from the window, the house shook, the electricity was gone .. We went to the city to withdraw money and buy food, returning home at the exit from Kharkov, Russian tanks blocked the road, our car began to fire, we turned into a dead end and jumped out of the car, two guys jumped out to meet us, Russian soldiers, young, 18-20 years old .. who barely even held weapons. …. We sat out for 15 minutes, then they started shooting at us .. My mother was wounded in the arm, I heard her scream in pain .. And at that time a soldier throws me to the ground and shouts many times do not shoot … These are their own … He yells at the Russian soldiers, don’t shoot.. Heavy shelling begins.. A dead soldier falls on me.. The second one is also shot… But my mother is silent… I get up and understand that she is dead.. She was hit in the head. .. I am left alone… They shoot around, I grab documents, etc. hiding behind an iron box … Dad at that time was driving from Kiev at all speeds, not yet knowing that my mother had been killed, and I was hiding so that they would not kill me … I sat for an hour and a half behind this booth, I was afraid to move … After a while, I I hear that the shots have stopped and I crawl to the car and take the shot soldier with me .. I turn the car along the curb and drive at full speed from the place of shelling …. So I was left without a mother, without Irina Perlifon, whom so many loved and respected .. And who was a great example for me in this life, a person who never did anything bad to anyone, my very kind and purposeful beloved mother .. I am writing this now and just crying out loud .. I don’t believe … I don’t know I survived, how I escaped and saved a person … But I couldn’t save my mother ……. My phone was torn from calls .. I’ll tell you honestly, when I was lying on the ground among bullets and dead people, I understood that I will die … This is not a fairy tale, and not the news that you are shown, in our cities of Ukraine it is happening on standing hell… This is not even 2014… this is HELL… The Russian military is killing civilians in Kharkov!!

What happened to Karolina is horrible. I may be reading this wrong but it sounds to me like she was Russian and the Russian soldier protecting her was trying to prevent ‘friendly fire’. Yet the Russian soldiers gunned them down anyway. I don’t know why she was left alive, unless they didn’t realize it. Whatever the case, it does look the Russian soldiers gunned down civilians in Kharkov.

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