Injured, alone and destined for a Russian orphanage, a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl is recruited for Moscow's information war
CNN
Before Russia's war on Ukraine began, Kira Obedinsky was a joyful, loved 12-year-old girl. Now orphaned, injured and alone in a Russian-controlled hospital in eastern Ukraine, she has become an unwitting pawn in Moscow's information war.
Obedinsky's mother died when she was a baby. Her father Yevhen Obedinsky, a former captain of Ukraine's national water polo team, was shot and killed as Russian forces fought their way into the southeastern city of Mariupol on March 17.
Days later, Kira and her father's girlfriend tried to flee the city on foot alongside neighbors. But after she was injured in the blast from a landmine, Kira was taken to a hospital in the Donetsk region, which is controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
After recent burglaries at homes of professional athletes – including Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce – the NFL and NBA have issued security memos to teams and players warning that “organized and skilled groups” are increasingly targeting players’ residences for such crimes.