Where Ukrainian Children Once Played, Piles of Toys Memorialize the Dead

Their lives intersected around a playground on a sunny Friday evening in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine.Kostiantyn Novik, 16, had come with his cousin to hang out with friends.Serhii Smotolok, a 57-year-old welder, was nursing a beer nearby on the terrace of a restaurant, unwinding after his workday.

Radislav Yatsko, 7, was sitting in the back seat of his parents’ car as they drove past the playground, headed home from an afternoon at their country cottage.In an instant, the lively scene turned to carnage: A Russian missile struck near the playground, raining shrapnel that tore apart everything in its path.Kostiantyn and his cousin were killed instantly, Kostiantyn’s leg torn off by the blast.Mr.

Smotolok was struck by missile fragments and bled to death on the terrace.Radislav died as shrapnel blew off part of his skull.“Everything was covered in blood,” said his father, Rodion Yatsko.

He begged the medics who arrived shortly after to save his son’s life.“Then one man came to our car, looked inside and said, ‘It’s over.’”ImageRadislav Yatsko, who was killed when Russia struck near a playground in Ukraine.Credit...Yatsko familyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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