The atmosphere at its headquarters (EC), in Strasbourg, during the presentation of a documentary about the daily life of children in , describes the EC, when Roman Oleksiv testified his personal story, causing intense emotion to both the interpreter and those present.
The 11-year-old lost his mother in a bombing in 2022 and spent 100 days in intensive care before undergoing more than 35 operations to repair his injuries.
💔 Interpreter breaks down in the European Parliament while translating for 11-year-old Ukrainian boy
The child, who was badly injured, recalled how he and his mother came under a Russian strike in Vinnytsia.
“It was the last time I saw my mother and could say goodbye to her,”…
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv)
Describing his experience in July 2022, Roman initially said: “I was with my mother in the hospital when a bomb went off.”
After his fellow translator intervened, the 11-year-old continued, saying: “I saw her under the rubble, I saw her hair and I said goodbye. That was the last time I saw her. I then stayed in intensive care for over 100 days and underwent 35 different surgeries and am now on the road to recovery.”
“When we are together, we are strong, we never give up and we continue to support Ukraine and its children,” the young Ukrainian concluded, followed by applause.
In July 2022, Roman and his mother, Halina, were waiting for a medical examination in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, when rockets hit the clinic.
In total, 26 people were killed, including Halina. Roman made it out of the rubble of the building, but with internal injuries and burns covering 45% of his body, the boy’s outlook was grim.
Fortunately, within just a few days, the then 8-year-old child was transported to Germany, for specialized care, through a medical evacuation (medevac) program, developed by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, in cooperation and with the support of the World Health Organization, the European Union and several WHO member states.
Despite doctors’ fears that Roman might never walk again, he fought back and survived, with the help of dance and the accordion. His father says that dancing helped Roman improve his balance and muscle strength, while the complex accordion technique improved the flexibility of his injured hands.
At the end of 2024, Roman managed to remove the mask and is now back with his father in Ukraine, winning first prize in an international accordion competition.
