On April 13, 2025, Russian troops launched a missile attack on Sumy. 35 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
“It landed in front of the bus. I immediately fell to the floor, heard glass flying out and falling on me. I jumped out the window to open the door so people could get out. I knew how to act in a critical situation, and physical strength helped, so I was able to open the door,” Kirill said.
He helped the victims get off the bus and carried his mother out. Later, doctors found out that he was wounded in the head by three shrapnel fragments.
“After that explosion, my ears were ringing for about a week. The first night I couldn’t sleep at all, I couldn’t because of the noise,” Kirill recalled.
The Foundation noted that Kirill is the champion of Ukraine in freestyle wrestling U15, the silver medalist of the European Championship in beach wrestling among youths. According to his father, sports training taught his son to react quickly in stressful situations.
“I live by sports, so for me sport is everything. It helps with everything. It’s the best medicine,” says Kirill.
He returned to study and training, and is preparing to represent Ukraine at European level competitions. The events of the day of the Russian attack on Sumy changed his life, he noted.
“People recognize me on the streets, they come up to me, say hello, and thank me for what I did,” says Kirill.
You can view Kirill’s story on the museum’s portal.
Context
The “Voices of Peaceful” Museum of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation stores more than 145 thousand stories of people affected by Russia's war against Ukraine.
