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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Bill McLoughlin

Ukrainian girl who melted hearts with rendition of ‘Let It Go’ from bunker escapes to Poland

A young girl whose rendition of the Disney hit song ‘Let It Go’ went viral on social media has reportedly escaped from Ukraine.

The child, Amelia Anisovych, was videoed singing the hit anthem from Frozen in an underground bunker in Kyiv.

According to The Sun, the seven-year-old has made it out of the capital and safely into Poland after spending six days in a bunker in the capital.

Her mum Lilia, 39, said the viral video of her daughter showed the world is “united” against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

She said: “I always knew Amelia was very talented and a sweet angel and now the whole world knows the same.

“But it is a tragedy that she is only a star because of so much death and destruction. Amelia’s video showed the conditions that children had to suffer because of Putin.

A boy plays basketball with a plush toy inside the sports hall of a primary school (REUTERS)

“We were down there for a whole week with not enough food. To go to the toilet we had to run upstairs as his missiles were flying overhead.

“The children were terrified. But the video shows the world is united and stands with us and that gives us hope.”

Lilia and her husband, Roman, 36, made the decision to send Amelia and their son Misha, 15, to Poland to be with their grandmother while they stayed behind to cook meals for soldiers.

She added: “I was so sad to wave goodbye to my children but it was the best thing to do to make sure they are safe.

“I think Kyiv will stand and we will win. But at what price? How many children must die?”

While Amelia has managed to escape the conflict in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said 52 children have now been killed by Russian attacks in the first 13 days of the conflict.

Mr Zelensky said in a video on Facebook: “We will not allow anyone in the world to ignore the suffering and murder of our people, our children.

“When I spoke to the British Parliament, the scariest number was 50. Fifty Ukrainian children killed in 13 days of war.

“And in an hour it was 52. Fifty-two children. I will never forgive that. And I know that you will never forgive the invaders.”

With the conflict now in its fourteenth day, Ukrainian officials claimed Russian forces were increasingly targeting urban areas after failing to make any progress on city’s such as Kyiv.

Following negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials, 5,000 people took buses out of the city of Sumy, regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said, and about 1,000 cars were also able to leave, moving towards the city of Poltava.

Donate here: Please give what you can to the Evening Standard Ukraine appeal (ES)

Despite the negotiations, a Russian airstrike has reportedly killed one of Ukraine’s most talented sambo fighters.

Artyom Priymenko, 16, was said to have been killed alongside his entire family when bombs hit residential homes in the battered city.

They were among 21 who died in the strike late on Monday, it has been reported.

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