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Tanya Vichysta-Pelish embraces her daughter-in-law Albina at the funeral of Vasyl Pelish, her son and Albina’s husband, in the western Ukrainian city of Stariy Sambir.
Vasyl was taken captive in the Donbas in 2014 by Russian proxies who hacked off his right arm with a hatchet because he had a Ukrainian trident, the symbol of the Ukrainian state, tattooed on his arm. He was later swapped in a prisoner exchange. Vasyl and Albina, a medic, left to volunteer on the frontline shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is believed he was killed by Russian sniper. Stariy Sambir, Ukraine, September 21, 2022