His painted nails became the symbol of war: his relatives told how their lives were changed by the war
Relatives of Ukrainian Irina Filkina, who was one of the victims of the bloodiest days of the Ukrainian-Russian war and became one of the symbols of the war with her nail polish, spoke about their lives that have changed with the war approaching its first moment. anniversary.
While the Russian army withdrew from the regions around kyiv last April, the town of Bucha had been on the agenda for days with accusations of a massacre. In the area where the streets were littered with lifeless bodies, the painted nails of a victim drew attention.
Relatives recognized Irina Filkina, a 52-year-old mother of two, for her nail polish and well-groomed nails. The tragic story of the woman, whose lifeless body was found next to her bicycle, was also heard in the international press.
Filkina, who works as an operator at a heating center, was said to dream of being a make-up artist and take make-up lessons.
Irina Filkina
THE CHILDREN ESTABLISHED THE ASSOCIATION
“For me, life ended with his death,” Filkina’s older sister, Svitlana Safonova, told Reuters as she shed tears at the grave in Bucha. Explaining that her brother was full of life, Safonova said: “It is different when someone dies as a result of a long illness. But if a person dies unexpectedly for no reason, it’s a completely different situation.”
Anastasiya Subacheva, one of Filkina’s friends, also noted that she recently left Bucha and moved to Vilnius and started working in a beauty salon, adding: “I gasped when I saw the photo of her hand while browsing Instagram.” . Subacheva stated that the lives of all Ukrainians were stolen with the invasion of Russia, saying: “But we are trying to get our lives back.”
Reuters reported that Filkina’s daughters also founded an association called “Mama Ira” that collects donations for children in Bucha.
The mayor of Bucha claimed that more than 400 civilians were killed in attacks by the Russians in the first period of the war.
Russia at the time denied the Ukrainian and Western accusations of massacres and war crimes.