Russian drone strike on school in Ukraine kills 13-year-old student

A Russian drone killed 13-year-old Arina Pidruchna on 1 November in the city of Koziatyn, Vinnytsia Oblast. The strike targeted an educational institution and impacted an area near temporary accommodation for internally displaced people.

Pidruchna was born on 4 May 2013 and raised in the village of Nepedivka. She completed her primary education at Nepedivka Lyceum and studied at a private school in Berdychiv, where she finished a mental arithmetic course with distinction. In fifth grade, she transferred to Koziatyn Lyceum No. 2. There, she served as class monitor and earned prizes in academic competitions for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.

The school described Pidruchna as an outstanding student and a kind, cheerful child. A statement from the lyceum noted, "We were so proud of Arina. She was an outstanding student, an exceptionally kind, cheerful and compassionate child, a loyal friend who was always willing to lend a hand. Her heartfelt smile, sparkling eyes and kind heart will be remembered forever by all who knew her." She also attended a Pentecostal Sunday school in Koziatyn and had a younger brother named Arsen.

The Hlukhivtsi hromada said Pidruchna was sociable and had many friends. On the day of the attack, she planned to visit church with her mother and then attend a humanities club at the Sunday school. She intended to meet a friend near a shop close to the strike zone. The hromada reported that Pidruchna was talking on the phone at the time of the impact. Her last words were: "I can see a Shahed [drone]."

The attack in Koziatyn occurred amid a series of strikes on Ukrainian cities. On 29 October, a mother of two known only as Anna was killed in Kremenchuk. She shielded her children, Kseniia and Yehor, with her body before dying. The same day, two 15-year-old classmates, Yana Pieshkova and Mariia Mozhova, were killed in central Chernihiv by a cruise missile launched from a Banderol drone.

The funeral date and time for Pidruchna have not yet been announced. The Koziatyn City Council and the Hlukhivtsi hromada provided the details regarding her life and the circumstances of her death.