A story from Oleksiy Sukhanov: “How one second took the life of the whole Figurni family”

Svitlana Figurna buried her six family members killed by a missile strike in Dnipro on 14 January 2023.

Andriy Osynskyi and his wife Maryna Figurna came to Dnipro from Odesa to visit Maryna’s parents — they lived in the section of the high-rise residential building destroyed by the russian missile.

At the time of the strike, there were seven family members in the flat: Maryna Figurna and Andriy Osynskyi from Odesa, Maryna’s parents Svitlana Figurna and Yuriy Figurnyi, her brother Oleksandr Figurnyi with his wife Yana and their 14-year-old daughter Hanna.

On that day, the family celebrated a holiday. They got together first after a long break. After the explosion, everyone was under the rubble.

You know, this is just a real horror. In one second, I lost my whole family, everyone. My husband, my daughter-in-law, my son, our granddaughter, my son-in-law, and my daughter. I had the best family; they were just perfect. You know, I cannot say anything bad about them...

It is impossible, just impossible, to listen to Svitlana without having tears. The woman lost six of her dearest family members because of the russian missile in a matter of seconds. She lost her loved ones, her love, her help and her support.

Lately, my husband was on retirement for health reasons. He has long been a pensioner, but continues to be employed. I don’t remember for how long... Every evening, he went out to meet me from my work, as it was dark. I would come home and all the chores around the house were done. I would come home and I would have to call my daughter, I had to call my son, to find out how they were doing. Now there is no one, and I don’t know why I live, for what purpose I live. In a matter of a second, I lost the whole family. I don’t understand, and there is a question on my mind all the time: what for? For what all this was done to me?

On that day, Svitlana was preparing as never before, as her daughter and her son-in-law were supposed to come from Odesa. Mother was glad, as the whole family would gather at one holiday table. Mother did not see her daughter Maryna all year long, and finally they all got together again. Her son Oleksandr came over with his wife Yana and her granddaughter Hanna.

We sat down at the table and the celebration was in progress. I went out into the kitchen. I wanted to take meat out of the oven. At that moment, some cracking or breaking sound rang out! It was a terrible sound of crushing. The ceiling started to collapse, and I fell down, as if into some kind of pit. Then I recovered my senses, being on a heap of all those debris. A concrete partition wall fell on me. I raised my head. I was in a state of sound mind and clear memory. You look around, and there is silence everywhere. A frightening silence.

Suddenly, through that silence, Svitlana heard “Mum, help me”. She saw her daughter high on top, barely holding onto some pieces of concrete.

She fell down before my eyes. And then I saw an explosion and a fire on the side. That was all. And I lost my consciousness.

I woke up in the intensive care unit. You realize that you do not have anything left. My whole life was destroyed in a second, demolished completely. There was no our section of the building left. Only I survived alone. But I just don’t understand: why? There were so many children, so many young people there... Why did I remain alive? It would be better if it were someone else from young people, whose life is just beginning. Incomprehensible. This is just some kind of punishment. I cannot imagine how I will go out and how I will live on. I don’t know why I live, what for? I lost everything that was dear to me. I lost absolutely everything.

The pain that cannot be dulled. The pain we have to share with Svitlana. Nowadays, the words of each of us, of the whole country, are so important. Spare no words, and write to Svitlana. She will read every comment, for sure. Now she is getting ready for a complex surgery for prosthetics of the hip joint in order to be able to stand on her feet again, for the sake of her family members.

Why did they do it to me, for what? What did we do so wrong in this life? Why are they shelling the civilian population? Well, the battlefield is over there, so they could wage the fighting there. Yet, no. They hit the building on Saturday, on a holiday, when many people are at home. Can you imagine such a thing to happen? When such a missile flies in, killing that number of people. This is just awful.

The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation helps in the treatment and rehabilitation of Svitlana Figurna, as well as all other victims of the terrorist acts in Dnipro: both children and adults, regardless of their age and regardless of the severity of their injuries. If you also need help or you know those people who need it so much, please contact the Foundation by calling the toll-free hotline number 0800 509 001.