Fifty-seven-year-old Svitlana Chetvertakova was killed in Mariupol on March 29, 2022. Her granddaughter Myroslava Lytvynenko and relatives Iryna Tymoshchenko and Kateryna Chetvertakova were also killed when a shell struck the house where they were sheltering.
Svitlana, together with her daughter Kateryna Lytvynenko, her young granddaughter, and two other relatives, had been hiding for several weeks in a private house in Mariupol's Prymorskyi district. On March 29, they were preparing to leave the city. Kateryna stepped outside to assess the situation. Her family members, with their belongings packed, were waiting near the entrance when the shell hit.
"The blast wave left me with a concussion, but my entire family was gone. We managed to bury them only the following morning, under shelling. I never imagined I would spend the whole night praying that their bodies would not burn; that I would dig a grave for my own mother and daughter. But I did. With my own hands, I laid my long-awaited child to rest beside my mother," Kateryna recalled.
Svitlana Chetvertakova was born in Mariupol. She worked at the city's tuberculosis dispensary for nearly 35 years. For the last 20 years of her career, she served as a disinfection specialist.
"My mother was the dearest person in my life, my best friend. She was always there to help and was my greatest support. My husband used to say that he had the best mother-in-law in the world. And when Mirochka was born, she became the most wonderful grandmother. A lifetime would not be enough to describe what kind of person she was—caring, compassionate, the best mother anyone could ever wish for," Kateryna said.
Svitlana and her granddaughter Myroslava were later reburied at the Starokrymske Cemetery.
She is survived by her daughter Kateryna and her husband Volodymyr.
At 9:00 a.m., Ukraine observes a nationwide minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial platform honor the memory of the residents of Donetsk Oblast killed by Russian forces.