Ukrainian husband carries wounded wife on sled through snow, then Russian drones do the unthinkable

Valerii and Valentyna Klochkov were married for 33 years after meeting as teenagers. The couple, aged 54 and 52, lived in the small village of Hrabovske near the Russian border. They stayed in their home even after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, becoming some of the last people hiding from Russian forces in the area.

Valentyna’s sister, Oksana Zyma, 53, described them as loving people. “They were kind and gentle people, who lived a simple life together and loved one another very much,” Zyma said, according to The Times. The couple had been hiding in a cellar to avoid Russian troops.

Valerii’s nephew, Oleksandr Klochkov, explained that his uncle and aunt went into hiding after Russian forces took his own parents on December 18, 2025. Valentyna may have gotten sick, or the stress of hiding became too much. On January 27, Valerii decided they needed to escape, and the couple made a run for Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The couple came heartbreakingly close to being rescued

The Klochkovs were trying to cross no-man’s land to reach Ukrainian lines. A Ukrainian police officer spotted them and contacted the White Angels special police rescue unit. Ukrainian forces sent a drone to drop off a communication device, telling the couple that soldiers would meet them at a planned location.

Oleksandr said they traveled almost seven kilometers, which is over four miles. A rescue car was ready to pick them up for the final part of their escape. They were very close to safety when Russian forces discovered them.

Russian drones attacked the couple as they fled. The first drone hit Valentyna, wounding her. Valerii put his injured wife on a sled and pulled her through the snow, trying to reach Ukrainian troops. The war has created countless heartbreaking stories, including a young Ukrainian woman’s identity in Paris.

They didn’t make it. Video from the Ukrainian military shows a second drone hitting Valentyna directly and killing her. The footage shows Valerii falling to his knees next to his wife’s body, crying over her death. A third Russian drone then approached and killed Valerii as well. 

The couple’s bodies were left in the snow together. “The thought of my sister lying scattered in the snow, unrecovered, is unbearable,” Zyma said. Ukrainian soldiers couldn’t recover the bodies because the area was too dangerous. This tragedy highlights ongoing challenges in Trump’s progress with Zelensky on peace talks.