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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Tom Davidson

'Legendary' Ukraine medic who helped both sides killed by Russian shelling

A 'legendary' battlefield medic who worked to save lives on both sides of the war has been killed in action.

Valentina Pushich - known as Romashka - was a medic in the Ukraine army's 72nd brigade.

Reports around Ms Pushich's death have not been independently verified but Ukraine media says she was killed by Russian shelling in the Ukraine capital.

This weekend her body was buried at a cemetery in Kyiv, draped in the Ukraine flag.

Her medical work in the war so far had quickly seen her described as 'legendary' among the Ukrainian resistance.

For all the updates follow our dedicated Russia-Ukraine war liveblog

(Twitter)

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna has said the situation in her country was getting "more and more severe".

Ms Stefanishyna told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme that Russian forces were shelling hospitals, nurseries and schools, and civilian homes.

She said: "This is how the reality looks but it seems like ... it does not look like (it is on) the agenda for the new wave of sanctions to be introduced by the democratic world."

Local residents help clear rubble of a home destroyed by a suspected Russian airstrike (MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES/REX/Shutterstock)

Ms Stefanishyna said the situation reported in the city of Mariupol was replicated across other cities, but the port city would again be the site of a temporary ceasefire on Sunday to try and allow citizens to leave.

A previous ceasefire of Saturday was not upheld. "Hopefully, today we will manage to make the evacuation based on the agreement reached bilaterally between officials both on Ukrainian and Russian sides."

Ms Stefanishyna said despite agreements over ceasefires, Ukrainians would "never trust" what the Russians say.

She said every Ukrainian citizen and politician "knows the Russian playbook by heart".

People cross a destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling and bombing on March 5, 2022 (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Ms Stefanishyna hit out at Western leaders who refused to impose a no-fly zone over her country.

"My President was as precise as it is possible and we absolutely support from the bottom of his, of our, hearts (in) everything he says because this is what we feel," she said.

"It is very upsetting when the group of 30 leaders or ministers or even ambassadors are (...) gathering itself in a fancy cabinet, with the fancy furniture, and talking about the fancy thing, knowing that Ukraine was over this table for all of (these) years sitting in this fancy offices.

"But now knowing that we can't be there because we are operating under the bombarding of (the) Russian Federation and knowing that their intelligence also confirms that further severe attacks on the civil population - including carpet bombarding of the cities, which are basically happening these days already in some cities - will be taking place."

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