**Teenage Hero Saves Lives in Sumy Attack**
On a quiet Sunday morning, Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son Kyrylo were taking a bus through the city of Sumy to visit his grandmother. But their routine trip turned into a nightmare when Russia launched a brutal missile strike on April 13. The attack killed 35 people and injured nearly 120, including Kyrylo and his mother.
Kyrylo, who was trapped in the epicenter of the blast, showed incredible bravery and quickly took action to help those around him. Despite being injured himself, he threw his sports bag out the window and jumped onto it to avoid debris on the ground. He then began trying to open the bus doors from the other side, finally managing to do so after several attempts.
Thanks to Kyrylo’s quick thinking, those trapped in the damaged bus were able to escape safely. “Outside, I saw bodies lying on the ground. There were many people. But I did not have time to think at that moment. I just acted,” he said.
For his bravery, Kyrylo was awarded the Honorary Distinction of the Sumy City Council “For Merits to the City.” He also received a two-week trip to a children’s camp in Bulgaria.
**A Family Traumatized**
The attack on their hometown was not the first traumatic event that the Illiashenko family had experienced. Early in the Russian invasion, a Russian air strike hit near their house, frightening Kyrylo and his younger brother Matvii. The family decided to flee Sumy for nearly two months to Ukraine’s safer region in the west.
Although they were relieved to return home in the spring of 2022, attacks on the northeastern region and Sumy continued. That morning, while her husband and younger son stayed home, Maryna and Kyrylo were waiting at the bus stop when the first explosion hit. They entered the bus shortly after, unaware of what was to come.
**A Double-Tap Strike**
The second missile, fired minutes after the first one, was armed with cluster munitions. Such munitions are used to inflict greater devastation on civilians in the affected area. Maryna recalls realizing that the missile had exploded very close when shards of glass flew into her face.
“I was screaming my son’s name, trying to understand if he was okay,” she said. As soon as she managed to wipe some blood and glass from her face, Maryna saw her son jumping out of the bus window. According to her, there were up to 40 people on the bus at the time of the attack.
**A Hero’s Call**
Kyrylo says he is very upset about missing the freestyle wrestling competition he had been preparing for over months due to his injuries. Yet, according to Kyrylo, the sport helped him stay focused and composed during the attack.
“It was thanks to sports because every competition puts you under stress. And with each one, you get more and more used to handling yourself,” he said.
He now receives numerous calls from locals thanking him for his courageous actions. “My classmates have been messaging me. One of them had a grandmother on that bus, and another had an aunt,” Kyrylo says. “They thanked me a lot because their relatives were able to get out through the exit I opened.”
**A Call to Action**
The story of Kyrylo’s bravery is just one example of the many heroic acts that have taken place in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. As journalist Daria Shulzhenko notes, “By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
If you want to help us continue telling the truth about this war, consider becoming a member of The Kyiv Independent.
