A boy saw his parents being murdered by Russians. Is it going to be a war crime?
A boy saw his parents being murdered by Russians. Is it going to be a war crime?
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Ukraine: 10-year-old Andrey Bliznyuk has never been able to sleep alone after Russian soldiers killed his parents in front of him shortly after the start of the invasion.

Her maternal grandfather, Oleksandr Chernoval, described her as "a suffering child".

Andrey, his mother Oksana, father Mykhailo Blizhnyuk and uncle Serhi Salivon reportedly appeared in front of a column of Russian tanks on March 1 while attempting to flee the offensive of the invading forces near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Andrey claims that one of the tanks hit his beige Audi, and crushed them all. He claims that after waving at the wrecked car, Russian soldiers drove him out of it in a strange act of mercy. Then, according to him, they started firing machine guns at the car.

Andrey claims that he remembers lying on the side of the road and the car caught fire. He had lost his mother, father and uncle. He claims that a stranger discovered him and took him to the hospital.

Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating more than 30,000 alleged Russian war crimes, including the deaths of Andrey's parents and uncle. Since the first hours of the invasion on 24 February, Kyiv has accused Russia of crimes against humanity, including targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Despite evidence, according to Ukraine, that the entire city has been destroyed by Russian forces, Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians.

Andrey has spent several nights with his grandfather since six months ago.

"He's afraid of anything in the house - doors, curtains or shutters - being open," his grandmother Katerina Chernowal says, crying.

He further said that he needs someone to stand next to him in the bathroom as he is too afraid to use it alone.

There was no other witness to the death of his family other than Andrey. After removing the debris, the family members were able to bury the remains of their loved ones.

According to Ukrainian officials, a possible war crime is being investigated in the incident.

Before and after

Andrey helps his grandmother pick strawberries and spring onions in Sofivka, a village about 50 miles east of Kyiv, while donning a green long-sleeved Gap sweatshirt.

He lived with his mother and father in the Brovary neighborhood of Kyiv before the war. He smiles and says that he enjoyed the school, especially the math, physical education and computer science classes. The fourth-grader went fishing with his father and kept a large collection of pet turtles and toy cars.

Andrey remembers how his mother used to take him to school, and his eyes lit up. Later, he allowed her to cross the road himself.

He remembers growing flowers and that his father enjoyed working on cars.

When asked about that fateful morning of March 1, he raises his fingers and his smile turns to bewilderment. His older sister Tetyana Muravska, 26, who is now his legal guardian, makes him more reserved and avoids questions about his new life.

Andrey never cries while the adults around him openly cry as they discuss how his parents passed away.

When asked how he was doing, he replied, "All right."

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