Odessa (Ukraine) (AFP) – On Saturday April 23, 2022, the weather was beautiful in Odessa. The war had been raging for two months already but the Glodan wanted to celebrate Easter. In a matter of seconds, a Russian missile destroyed the lives and dreams of an entire Ukrainian family.

Published on: 02/23/2026 - 5:33 p.m.

The little girl, Kira, was three months old, her mother Valeria 28 years old, her grandmother Lioudmyla 54 years old. Three generations of the same family wiped out in a flash, just like five other people, killed in this strike on a building in this large city in southern Ukraine.

Yuriï, the father, was out shopping. The only survivor of a tragedy which had a huge impact in Ukraine, he joined the army a year later.

The ultimate cruelty in history, he was killed at the age of 31, in September 2023 near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.

His mother, Nina, talks about the family tragedy on February 20, 2026 near Odessa.

The story of the Glodan family, one of dozens, illustrates the exorbitant price paid by civilians in the massive offensive against Ukraine unleashed by Moscow, which enters its fifth year on Tuesday.

According to the UN, nearly 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since February 24, 2022. kyiv has acknowledged the combat deaths of at least 55,000 soldiers.

Figures which are largely underestimated, they could in reality be several times higher, due in particular to a very large number of missing people.

A few days before the fourth anniversary of the invasion, AFP met, in addition to Yuriï's parents, friends of the couple, whose lives were also turned upside down by the tragedy.

- "Cinnamon rolls" -

Nina and Youriï Glodan traveled on purpose from the Zaporizhia region, some 500 km away, to talk about their son.

They arranged to meet in Avangard, a village south of the port city, in the pretty café where Valeria had announced her pregnancy to them.

It is also in the cemetery of this locality that the family is buried, Kira, her mother and her grandmother on one side of a narrow alley, Iouriï facing them.

The young man's parents, former small traders whose youngest daughter took refuge in France, deliver a story in two voices, supporting each other when one of the two falters.

They brought with them a large photo album, containing memories of a happy life, the wedding of "Youra" and "Lera", their trip to Rome, their parties... and of course Kira, "Kirotchka", baby with huge eyes.

Young Yuriï looks serious and calm, Valeria is a spicy brunette with a contagious smile, resembling her mother Lioudmyla.

They met in 2013, Yuriï was finishing his studies at the Odessa Law Academy, Valeria was studying journalism.

“Youriï was brilliant, talented. Lera won him over with her intelligence,” assures Nina, 53.

The young man, an outstanding cook, abandoned his career as a lawyer to work in a bakery in Odessa.

“His specialty was cinnamon rolls. He also made incredible Easter cakes,” Nina says with a smile. The couple dreamed of opening their own pastry shop.

“We were impatiently waiting for our first grandchildren,” continues the father of Iouriï, 55 years old.

The wedding took place in 2019. Kira was born on January 4, 2022. "We were all so happy."

"Everything is fine ?"

On April 23, 2022, this day which marks "the line between before and after", Iouriï remains on the phone with his parents while he searches for "his daughters" in the rubble of the building.

“He told us his life was over,” says Nina. “Ours also stopped that day.”

Alla Koroliova, for her part, has never managed to delete her WhatsApp conversations with her friend Valeria, where jokes, emojis and photos of Kira parade.

“Lera was a ray of sunshine. She loved Odessa, Ukrainian culture, opera... She had a huge laugh, which I miss so much,” remembers the 38-year-old marketing expert, as smiling as her late friend.

At the start of the invasion, Alla had gone with her family to the west but Valeria did not want to leave Odessa, where "she felt safe".

On the WhatsApp thread dated April 23, there was only a series of calls from Alla to Valeria, without response, interspersed with anxious messages: "is everything okay?"

Bakhmut

In the spring of 2023, a year after the death of his family, Yuriï leaves for the Eastern Front, after training like crazy to join the 3rd Assault Brigade, an elite unit of the Ukrainian army.

“I had no idea who he was, for me, he was just a guy from Odessa”, “sad” and a little withdrawn, underlines Dmytro Goudz, his brother in arms.

“One day in the trench, I asked him why he was always so grumpy and he told me his story. We became very close,” continues Dmytro, now head of a veterans’ association.

“Yurii felt empty inside.” The formula is the same for Alla and Dmytro.

He died on September 12, 2023 during an assault on Andriïvka, near Bakhmout. According to one of his companions, also injured, the young man was killed by a drone which was tracking them.

However, it will be necessary to wait until January for his remains to be formally identified.

His burial takes place on February 24, 2024. Two years to the day after the start of the war.

© 2026 AFP

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