I lost my arm after Russians shot me and killed my dad. I hope they didn’t mean to hurt me, says nine-year-old girl
A NINE-year-old girl has lost her arm after Russian forces machine-gunned her family when they tried to flee Kyiv.
The brave young girl, known as Sasha, said she hoped the soldiers "didn't mean to hurt her" after doctors had to amputate her arm to save her life.
The family attempted to flee the capital last week when their car was targeted by Putin's troops.
Sasha's dad was killed in the attack with the nine-year-old, her sister, and her mum escaping and finding shelter in a cellar.
Speaking from her hospital bed Sasha told the: "I don't know why the Russians shot me. I hope it was an accident and that they didn't mean to hurt me.
"I was shot in the arm. I ran after my sister. My mum she fell over. I thought it was the end.
READ MORE ON UKRAINE
"But she was not dead she was just sheltering from the gunfire. She was hiding.
"Then I lost consciousness. Someone carried me to a cellar. I was given some treatment there. And then some people carried me on a towel to the hospital."
The young girl is only one of the countless people who suffered serious injuries as fighting in Ukraine continues for the 19th day.
The capital was rocked by powerful explosions today with at least three big blasts being heard in the center.
Most read in The Sun
As attacks on the capital escalate, a 35-hour curfew will be imposed in Kyiv tonight with the city's mayor branding it a "difficult moment."
The curfew will be in place from 8pm local time (6pm GMT) tonight.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said: “Today is a difficult and dangerous moment.
“The capital is the heart of Ukraine, and it will be defended. Kyiv, which is currently the symbol and forward operating base of Europe’s freedom and security, will not be given up by us.”
Putin's troops have been advancing in the south with the defence ministry saying it now occupies the region around Kherson, the first major city to fall into Russian hands.
At least twenty people were killed and nine more injured in an airstrike on a TV tower in the vilage of Antopil, in the northern Rivne region on Monday, Governor Vitaliy Koval said.
He added the number may rise as rescue teams are still on the scene and shared images of firefighters using cranes to try and rescue those trapped under the rubble.
Earlier this month Putin's forces hit the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial which is next to the TV transmitter tower temporarily knocking out all broadcasts.
Meanwhile, the situation in the besieged city of Mariupol intensifies with thousands of civilians being in desperate need of evacuation, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
The city is currently seeing the worst humanitarian crisis in the country, with residents struggling to access food and key supplies.
Humanitarian convoys have failed to reach the city in the past few days, with those trapped inside warning that supplies are running low.
It comes as...
- China is willing to send weapons to Russia to help its invasion, the US has warned.
- Sobbing Russian soldiers apologised for killing "civilians and children" in Ukraine.
- A Russian drone was reportedly shot down in Ukraine today after claims it flew into Polish airspace.
- An anti-war activist stormed Russia's main propaganda news show with a sign saying: "They're lying to you."
- One of the world's most fearsome snipers has vowed that he "won't hesitate to squeeze the trigger".
- Brit fighter says Ukrainian forces are “like the Taliban on steroids”.
- Russia has released chilling new footage of its hypersonic nuke missile that could hit London in five minutes.
The Red Cross today said "people are facing impossible choices" when trying to feed their families and are "essentially being suffocated."
The first successful evacuation attempt since the invasion of Ukraine happened yesterday when around 300 civilians were able to flee to Zaporizhzhia.
Hundreds who tried to find shelter in the city have been crammed in a public building and are soon running out of supplies, with many needing urgent medical help.
Anastasiya Ponomareva, 39, a teacher who fled the country but has friends there told the : "Some have developed sepsis from shrapnel in the body.
"Things are very serious."
Serhii Kozyrkov, 40, a pastor, told the outlet: "It's very crowded and there isn't enough food.
"People get ill because it's very cold and everyone is lying next to each other."
Additionally, reports suggest that staff and patients of the Mariupol Regional Intensive Care Hospital are being held as hostages after it was taken by Russian forces.
According to a report by human rights organisation the witnesses said that troops also fire from the windows of the hospital, trying to spark a fire in response.
No one is allowed to leave the building with soldiers threatening to shoot while those who attempted to escape reportedly returned with bullet wounds.
Last week three people, including a young girl were killed after Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in the city.
Women waiting to give birth were wounded in the strike, while children were buried in the rubble.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
Russian forces have also been accused of gunning down women and children - killing seven civilians who were trying to escape a village near Kyiv.
Putin's troops are inching closer and are believed to be just 15 miles from the city as terrified Ukrainians continue to flee their homes.
Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears.
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun's Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
Donate to help The Sun's fund
Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles
£3 — text SUN£3
£5 — text SUN£5
£10 — text SUN£10
Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit
The Ukraine Crisis Appeal will support people in areas currently affected and those potentially affected in the future by the crisis.
In the unlikely event that the British Red Cross raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help them prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters anywhere in the world.
For more information visit