Ukrainian Cops Rescue Family With Two Young Kids Who Spent 9 Months In Basement Hiding From Russian Shelling

The Ukrainian police have rescued a family with two young children who spent nine months in a basement hiding from Russian shelling.

The kids, 9-year-old Artyom and 7-year-old Vadim, lived in the shelter with their mum and grandmother, their mother can be heard saying in the police vehicle in the footage.

The footage shows the family being evacuated from the front, with the Ukrainian forces going to pick them up from the basement.

They can be seen with small bags of belongings leaving the dark basement.

The Ukrainian cops then put them in their van and evacuate them from the area, apparently picking up other evacuees on the way.

The images were obtained from the National Police of Ukraine on Wednesday, 8th March, along with a statement saying: “‘Let’s hurry, while it’s quiet, let’s take our things and go,’ – policemen evacuate a family from Avdiivka.

“Every day, enemy aviation bombards the Avdiiv direction. On 5th March, the occupiers dropped six Kh-59 missiles on Avdiivka and 2 on the village of Lastochkine.

“Due to the increase in enemy attacks, the number of people willing to evacuate to safer places has increased. This time, the policemen risked their lives to save a family with two children.

Picture shows Artyom, 9, in a basement in Lastochkine, Donetsk region, Ukraine in March, 2023. Ukrainian police rescued his family from Russian shelling. (@UA.National.Police/Newsflash)

“For nine months, the mother, 9-year-old Artyom and 7-year-old Vadim lived in one of the shelters. A grandmother lived with the family, who appealed to the law enforcement officers with a request for evacuation.

“The police took the mother and sons to Pokrovsk in an armoured car. From here, the family will head to relatives in a safer region of the country on an evacuation train.

“The police evacuated three more families from the village of Lastochkine. Currently, people are in the city of Myrnograd, Donetsk region.”

Ukrainian police officer Gennady Yudin is quoted as saying: “We are appealing to all residents of Avdivka and surrounding settlements to evacuate. Due to the aggravation of the situation at the front, we ask you to leave for safer areas of the country. Contact us, we will help you. We will not leave anyone in trouble.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 380th day of the full-scale war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 10th March 2023, Russia had lost about 156,990 personnel, 3,448 tanks, 6,742 armoured combat vehicles, 2,475 artillery units, 491 multiple launch rocket systems, 256 air defence systems, 304 warplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,107 drones, 907 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,337 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 240 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Picture shows Artyom, 9, and Vadim, 7, and their mother in a police car in Lastochkine, Donetsk region, Ukraine in March, 2023. Ukrainian police rescued their family from Russian shelling. (@UA.National.Police/Newsflash)

At least nine people were reportedly killed yesterday in Russia’s largest wave of missile strikes in three weeks.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 81 missiles in total and eight Shahed drones. It said that it had shot down 34 missiles and four drones.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned that urgent action is required to protect the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The facility was briefly disconnected from the grid as a result of Russian missile strikes grew.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said that the “massive retaliatory strike” was payback for a cross-border raid last week.

Grossi said: “Due to a series of attacks there had been a complete cut of the off-site power lines thereby [leaving] the plant without any source for its cooling systems, which are essential for the safety of the reactors.

“Hence the emergency generators kicked in – the largest nuclear power plant in Europe for the sixth time since the beginning of the war has been working on emergency diesel generators, which has been absolutely mindboggling.”

Crying mother of Artyom, 9, and Vadim, 7, hugs a man near a police car in Lastochkine, Donetsk region, Ukraine in March, 2023. Ukrainian police rescued her family from Russian shelling. (@UA.National.Police/Newsflash)

He added: “This proves again how fragile and terribly dangerous this situation is at Zaporozhzhia.

“The danger as I’ve been saying would be the reactors eventually when you stop having a cooling function, you eventually melt down thus leading to a major accident with severe radiological effects…

“Here we’re talking about six nuclear power reactors – the biggest site in Europe – so you can see how enormously incredible the situation is.”

Grossi also said: “Don’t shoot at a nuclear power plant.”

Ukraine appears intent on holding the eastern city of Bakhmut despite reportedly suffering an estimated 100 to 200 casualties every day.

Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, has said that one Ukrainian is killed for every seven Russians, adding that Ukrainian soldiers are killing as many as 1,100 of Moscow’s soldiers every day.

The President of Belarus, the authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a bill that introduces capital punishment for government officials and members of the military who are convicted of high treason.