The images of the atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha went around the world and got under your skin. They were especially shocking to a young woman who recognized her late mother’s hands from one of these photos. The unusual painting of the fingernails brought sad certainty to the young woman. “She was shot in the middle of the street less than 15 minutes from home… With a bullet the size of my finger,” Olga Shchiruk reported on Instagram.
She loved makeup, and a beautiful manicure is also very important to Irina Filkina. It was precisely this passion that helped her daughter recognize her mother in one of the terrible pictures from Bucha. The victim was only 53 years old when she was literally executed on the street by the Russian occupiers.
Before the soldiers invaded her hometown, Irina had painted her fingernails red – except for the ring finger, which was painted lighter and had a small heart. The photo also attracted the attention of a beautician, with whom the dead woman took makeup classes. “At first I couldn’t explain why this photo of all things fascinated me so much,” Anastasia Subatschewa of neighboring Hostome said on Instagram. Then it dawned on her: “Irina was my client.” The beautician had seen her the night before the war broke out.
Shot on the way home from work
Her daughter Olga also learned about the death of Irina. She told a TV station that her mother was riding her bike home from work when she was shot at. Although Olga was unable to reach her mother by phone for weeks, she hoped to the last that she was still alive. In early April, however, the photo shattered that hope.
The next of kin cannot yet bury the deceased. Irina’s body, like that of the hundreds of other victims of Butscha, must first be examined.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
