Kateryna Smirnova was killed on March 17, 2022, when a Russian aircraft dropped a bomb on a private house in Mariupol. She was 16 years old.
She lived with her family on Hryboiedov Street, near the sea, from where Russian naval artillery was shelling the city. Kateryna studied at Collegium School No. 1, later at the Mariupol Technical Lyceum. She played the guitar, wrote poems and songs, and was a talented artist.
That morning, around 11:00 a.m., a bomb destroyed their home.
Alongside Kateryna, her 9-year-old nephew Viacheslav, her 31-year-old sister Maryna, her 58-year-old mother Nataliia, and her 82-year-old grandmother Liudmyla were killed.
Maryna’s partner survived — he said Kateryna had been standing nearby, reaching for a book. Only their remains were recovered from the rubble. In the chaos, Maryna and her grandmother were buried as unidentified at the morgue. After weeks of shelling, the entire street was wiped out.
Kateryna and her mother were buried in the Starokrymske Cemetery.
Her older brother Roman is the only surviving member of the family.
9:00 a.m. — National moment of silence.
The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial platform: Killed by Russia commemorate the residents of Donetsk region murdered by Russia.