An interpreter has burst into tears in the European Parliament while translating into English the story of 11-year-old Roman Oleksiv, who survived a Russian missile strike in the city of Vinnytsia in 2022. His mother was killed in that attack.

Source: Radio Liberty

Details: The incident took place on 10 December in Brussels, when the kid was sharing what he had lived through with members of the European Parliament.

Roman started his speech with the following words: "Hello everyone, my name is Roman; I am 11. I am from Ukraine and now I live in Lviv. On 14 July 2022, my mother and I were in Vinnytsia, in a clinic. Three Russian missiles hit there".

While translating Roman's story into English, the assistant to the vice-president of the European Parliament could not hold back her tears. The woman apologised for her emotional reaction but was unable to continue, and several subsequent remarks were translated by her colleague.

On the same day, the European Parliament screened the short film Romchyk about the story of Roman Oleksiv, the investigative film Children for Putin about the forcible deportation of children to Russia, and the film Chile.

Background:

• On 14 July 2022, Russian forces attacked the city centre of Vinnytsia, killing 29 civilians, including three children. Among them was four-year-old Liza, who was walking with her mother to a speech therapist's lesson that day.
• Roman Oleksiv was waiting with his mother for a doctor's appointment. As a result of the missile strike on the city, his 29-year-old mother was killed on the spot. The strike also claimed the life of a medical worker.
• The boy suffered burns to 45% of his skin and damage to his internal organs. Roman's father said that he burned his legs and buttocks when, as he crawled out, he sat down on hot stones.
• Doctors initially believed that the boy would not be able to walk on his own, but he managed to return to school and resume ballroom dancing and playing the bayan.
• Roman has undergone at least 36 operations and, two years later, was able to remove the mask he wore to prevent scarring on his face.

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