Russians kill Zaporizhzhia musicians right after concert to benefit Ukraine’s Armed Forces

The Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia on August 9 killed two Ukrainian women – 21-year-old Khrystyna Spitsyna and 19-year-old Svitlana Siemieykina. The girls were musicians of the Similar girls band and had just finished a concert in aid of the Armed Forces when the explosion rang out.

Svitlana played the guitar, and Khrystyna sang. People gathered around. That day, the girls ended their concert with a song about Kherson, which withstood the Russian occupation.

One girl died at the scene of the explosion, and the other fought for her life until morning.

“Then they sang the last song, and started collecting instruments and speakers. Svitlana’s boyfriend helped them. And the girls at that time moved aside – and a missile hit. The guy survived, but they died,” says Oleksandr Fedko, Head of the Cultural Center in Matviivka, where the musicians were from.

“Here we create a mood. We will touch every string of your soul,” is a quote from their Instagram profile, the girls also had a page on TikTok. 

After the full-scale invasion of Russia, Khrystyna and Svitlana traveled to different cities and performed in front of the military, on the streets, and in the squares to raise money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The parents of both girls are now at the front.

“They were very friendly, very musical. In general, Svitlana was always smiling, never sad. As artists, they were very emotional; they loved the audience, they loved the applause, as they were listened to,” Fedko says.

“Everyone remembers Svitlana and Krystyna as inspiring and smiling girls. All of Ukraine heard their beautiful voices and songs. The girls believed in a bright and peaceful life under the Ukrainian flag. They believed in victory, and brought it closer with their own strength. Therefore, now we have to do it for them,” the girls’ friend Viktoriia Knysh wrote.

The girls are survived by their parents, Svitlana’s younger sister, and Khrystyna’s brother and sister.