Brave Ukrainian students hold prom at bombed-out high school as Russia ramps up blitz

BRAVE Ukrainian students held a prom at their bombed-out high school as Russia ramped up its blitz on the east of the country. They danced on a basketball court in front of the ruins as heavily armed troops looked on. Brave Ukrainian students held a prom at their bombed-out high school as Russia ramped up its blitz on the east of the countryPeter Jordan The students danced on a basketball court in front of the ruins as heavily armed troops looked on In a striking image of hope and resilience, Valeria Kobzeva, 16, posed in a red ballgown amid the rubble of School Number 134. Valeria said the pupils’ performance in northern Kharkiv was “the saddest farewell dance”. She recalled: “The girls were choosing dresses and were excited that everyone would be very beautiful on the prom day. “But the Russian world arrived and ruined all our plans that we had dreamed of.” Read More on Uk WALKING DEAD Mind-blowing death toll of warped Russian soldiers exposed BLOODY REVENGE Putin loses his 50TH COLONEL in Ukraine as Russian death toll 'hits 31,000' Fellow pupil Nastia Kobzeva, 17, said: “We were supposed to graduate with a big party and had been preparing for ages. “Then in an instant our whole school was gone. The place where we learnt, where we played, every corner was gone. “We really loved our school. It is hard to describe how sad and angry we felt dancing.” But she insisted the school, which taught 900 pupils, would be rebuilt, adding: “Ukraine will win the war.” Most read in World News JAIL BEATING Caroline Crouch’s husband ATTACKED as he rots in jail for Brit's murder DEADLY TRAP Moment Russian troops are blown up by booby-trap explosives in Donbas ALDI GUN PANIC Aldi supermarket horror as two people are shot dead in store HELL RIDE Brit tourist ‘raped by taxi driver who took her to remote spot instead of hotel' KINGPINS Inside 'Supergang' cartel who 'worked with mafia' in record 4.3-TONNE cocaine bust SNATCH HORROR 'Paedo' suspect leads cops to body of missing boy, 9, in abandoned house Dance teacher Natalia Oleynik said the performance “will go down in history” and was proof of Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit. Top Ukrainian children’s author Andrei Kurkov said 111 schools had been destroyed — more than one a day since Vladimir Putin launched his onslaught on February 24. School No134 was reduced to a shell as Russian forces surged into the city on the fourth day of war. Nastia fled the city three days earlier but joined hundreds of locals who returned last month after Russian troops were forced to retreat. The city faced a fresh Russian missile blitz yesterday but the worst was unleashed further east in the key battleground cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted his forces were “standing firm” in the key Donbas cities but said: “Fierce street fights continue.” He vowed to repel Russian soldiers from every inch of Ukrainian territory. But he told The FT his forces’ “inferior” kit made it almost impossible to advance. The show trial of two British fighters captured in Mariupol began yesterday amid fears they face the death penalty. Aidan Aislin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, appeared in a cage in a Russian-backed court in Donetsk accused of seizing and holding power by force and “mercenary activities”. In a striking image of hope and resilience, Valeria Kobzeva, 16, posed in a red ballgown amid the rubble of School Number 134 Valeria said the pupils’ performance in northern Kharkiv was ‘the saddest farewell dance’ Fellow pupil Nastia Kobzeva, 17, said: ‘We were supposed to graduate with a big party and had been preparing for ages’ She said: ‘Then in an instant our whole school was gone. The place where we learnt, where we played, every corner was gone’ Dance teacher Natalia Oleynik said the performance ‘will go down in history’ and was proof of Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit