The War in Ukraine – It Shook the World:

– His loss still affects me. I just don’t know how I can go on living. This pain will accompany me for the rest of my life.

This is what Ivan Kalinin tells Dagbladet. On Wednesday, March 9, the worst thing happened, which would change his life forever.

– Lively

This Wednesday, the port city of Mariupol in Ukraine is exposed to artillery attacks by Russian forces. The image of a heavily pregnant woman, placed on a stretcher and clutching her stomach, went around the world, becoming a symbol of the brutality of war. Both the woman and her unborn child later die of their injuries.

The woman was Ivan’s wife, Irina Kalinina.

Again the widower sits mourning. He and his wife had been together for nearly seven years and were about to have their first child. The boy was supposed to be called Miron, from the Russian word “Mir” which means “peace”.

He describes that the two were very happy and looked forward to becoming parents.

– Irina was very fun-loving and loved to live life itself. She was beautiful and very wise. I loved her for this very reason, says Kalinin.

BBC mentioned the matter first.

– The worst I’ve ever seen

When Irina realized after the attack that her son would not survive, she should have, according to the news agency’s health personnel ap they talked and cried and shouted, “Kill me now.” Despite the persistent efforts of the doctors, neither Irina nor the boy’s life could be saved.

Anesthetist Oksana Kyrsanova was present and gives heartbreaking descriptions.

– It’s the worst thing I’ve seen in my whole life – putting a young woman in a black bag with the baby lying on her chest, Kyrsanova tells the BBC.

A heavily pregnant woman died after a seizure

– At least 10,000 killed

During the first months of the war, Mariupol was hit by numerous artillery attacks. The city has become a stark symbol of Russian brutality in Ukraine, and attacks have hit civilians hard.

In March, the Mariupol theater was also bombed, where several hundred civilians had taken refuge. So far it is unclear exactly how many were killed in this attack, but according to Ukrainian authorities and Western sources, at least 300 civilians have been killed.

Speculations about the death of the Kherson leader

The city has been under Russian control for several months, and very little information has emerged on the status of the port city in recent months. It is also unclear how many were killed in the city. The mayor of Mariupol said in April that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed, he wrote ap.

– That’s how I want to remember her

For a long time it was not known that it was Irina who was killed in the attack on the hospital. Worldwide media published the photo, but the woman was then unknown. The reason was that the hospital staff did not know her names until Ivan and her father collected her body.

Doctors told the AP news agency they were grateful Irina was not placed in a mass grave, as many of the Mariupol residents were.

More than 250 days after Irina was killed, her husband remained in mourning. She currently lives in Porthcawl in Wales. She also received a work permit in the country after waiting for approval for a month and a half. Today he works at Sony.

– People here are good and helpful, says Ivan.

In front of Dagbladet, he pays his respects to his late wife.

– One of his qualities was purposefulness and principled steadfastness. He always got what he wanted and never wavered from his principles. That’s how I want to remember her.