A 96-year-old Holocaust survivor has been killed by a Russian missile attack in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin’s invasion continues.
Boris Romantschenko, who survived both Buchenwald and Bergen-Belson concentration camps, died after a Russian blast in Kharkiv on Friday.
Mr Romantschenko’s death was reported by Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation who said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Romantschenko.
Mr Romantschenko speaking during an anniversary of the liveration of Buchewald in 2012
Twitter/ Stift. Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora
“We mourn the loss of a close friend. We wish his son and granddaughter, who brought us the sad news, a lot of strength in these difficult times."
The veteran’s granddaughter told the foundation that he was killed during a shelling on a multi-story building he was living in.
The Director of the foundation, Jens-Christian Wagner added that Mr Romanstchenko had not left his apartment for months over fears of contracting Covid-19.
Mr Romantschenko was born on January 20, 1926, in the village of Bondari in Northeastern Ukraine.
He was taken by Nazi troops back in 1942 and shipped to Germany, where he was forced to do hard labour in Dortmund.
Mr Romanstchenko was then sent to Buchenwald following a failed escape attempt in 1943, an action which also saw him arrested.
Despite the conditions, Mr Romanstchenko survived.
In 2012, during an anniversary of the liveration of Buchewald, Mr Romanstechnko said: “Our ideal is to build a new world of peace and freedom”.
Boris Romantschenko
Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation