Silicon Valley tech worker and her kids killed by Russian shelling in Ukraine
Tatiana Perebeinis and her two children were killed in Irpin, Ukraine during shelling by Russian forces on March 6, 2022. Perebeinis was the chief accountant for Silicon Valley startup SE Ranking. The company confirmed her death in a Facebook post. (KTVU FOX 2)
WARNING: This story contains graphic images.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A family that was photographed lifeless on the streets of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine -- illustrating yet another image of the war's toll on civilians -- was identified as a Silicon Valley tech worker and her two children.
SE Ranking, an SEO company based in Palo Alto, wrote on Facebook on Monday that Tatiana Perebeinis, the company’s chief accountant, and her children Alise and Nikita, were killed in Ukraine while trying to flee Russian forces.
"There are no words to describe our grief or to mend our pain. But for us, it is crucial to not let Tania and her kids Alise and Nikita remain just statistics. Her family became the victim of the unprovoked fire on civilians, which under any law is a crime against humanity," the company wrote in a Facebook post.
The images of Perebeinis and her teenage son and young daughter sent shock waves across the world, stirring outrage from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who threatened to punish the perpetrators.
"There will be no quiet place on Earth for you," Zelensky said. "Except for the grave."
Warning: Graphic photos below
Civilians' dead bodies, killed by Russian forces after being hit by a mortar while trying to flee Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 6, 2022. (Photo by Andrea Filigheddu/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
An Ukrainian soldier walks past the corpse of a local volunteer laying on the ground after shelling by the Russian army at the evacuation point of Irpin, Ukraine. Several members of the same family have been killed in this attack while trying to flee (Getty Images)
Irpin is a suburban checkpoint outside Kyiv that has been the focus of intense shelling in recent days. Ukraine suspended the evacuation of civilians at other points, such as Mariupol, due to the breakdown of the cease-fire with Russia. Other humanitarian corridors have also reported bombings by Russia.
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According to UNICEF, the number of refugees who have already fled Ukraine surpassed two million. The number of civilians killed in the conflict is close to 3,000 and almost 4,000 wounded according to Ukrainian government sources.