Remains and pendant found: missing 13-year-old girl feared dead

Valentyna Romanenko — Sunday, 8 May 2022, 16:59

The remains of a body thought to be 13-year-old Sofia Raetskaia have been found in one of the cars in a shelled convoy in Kharkiv Region.

Source: Head of the Investigations Department of the National Police in Kharkiv Region Serhii Bolvinov

Details: On 4 May the police received information that contact had been lost with some people who were travelling in a convoy of 15 cars near the village of Staryi Saltiv. The convoy was heading for Kharkiv with the aim of reaching territory controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The police note that it was impossible to reach the location of the convoy because of the fighting. The location of the convoy was established on 6 May.

When investigators arrived at the site, they found a wrecked Russian tank 150 metres away from it, pointing towards the convoy, and two burnt corpses clad in the remnants of Russian military uniforms. Another 300 metres away, they found debris and six cars riddled with bullet holes.

The law enforcement officers found four dead bodies in the cars, thought to be people travelling with the evacuation convoy. It is now impossible to identify all the bodies due to their condition, Bolvinov said.

The investigators have carried out all the necessary investigative measures to document every detail.

Direct quote: "I’d just like to add: there was a girl who was being searched for on social media – Sofia Raetskaia. Sadly, the remains of a body and the pendant described by her relatives [with her name on] were found in the car she was travelling in."