One is never too young to display remarkable nobility and heroism, as a 10-year-old Russian boy by the name of Fyodor, or Fedya, has proved.
The schoolboy, injured in a terrorist attack launched by Ukrainian saboteurs in Russia's border region of Bryansk on Thursday, was plunged into a situation that would have left many an adult quaking with fear. Yet Fedya rose up to the challenge, saving the lives of two girls and becoming a hero in the eyes of many.
Fedya, the fifth child in his family, was born in 2012 and lives in the village of Brahlov. Every day, together with several other youngsters, he is driven to school by a villager the kids call "Uncle Lyosha." On the fateful morning of March 2, everything was pretty much as usual while the boy was getting ready for school, his mother, Raisa, recalled when interviewed by local media.
However, echoes of the raging Ukraine crisis were destined to upend the day’s comfortably familiar routine. Ruthless saboteurs, who, according to Bryansk region Governor Alexander Bogomaz, were part of Ukraine's right-wing Russian Volunteer Corps unit, had infiltrated Russia that day. The terrorists from Ukraine penetrated into the territory of the Klimovsky district's Lyubechane village. As they spied the moving civilian vehicle, they shot at it point-blank.
Uncle Lyosha was killed on the spot, slumped in the driver’s seat. But the wounded boy did not let the panic swelling up inside him to take over. With a NATO-caliber bullet lodged just under his shoulder blade, Fyodor jumped out of the car and led the two frightened schoolgirls that were with him towards the cover of the woods nearby. The youngsters then managed to make their way to a settlement where an ambulance was called, with Fyodor then rushed to hospital.
"Doctors removed a bullet fired from a NATO-made weapon. Fyodor is under the constant supervision of specialists,” Alexander Bogomaz, Bryansk region governor, wrote on his Telegram account.
A video showing the boy being visited in hospital by his mother has been shared online.
The Bryansk region governor added that the boy, whose condition is currently stable and his life not at risk, would be presented for a heroism medal.
Meanwhile, local residents impressed by the youngster's courage have printed leaflets to honor Fyodor's bravery.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and everyone else in the Kremlin admire the heroism of the man killed in the attack, and the boy who saved the lives of two girls, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding, "The whole country is proud of them."