March 10, 2022

Good morning. We tell you the story of a Ukrainian family that has become an international symbol of civilian death.

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

The Perebyinis family

The photograph has become a worldwide symbol of Russia's brutality toward Ukrainian civilians.

Four people lay near an intersection in Irpin, a Kyiv suburb, on Sunday. All were dead or soon would be, from the force of Russian mortars. There had been no Ukrainian forces where the mortars landed, suggesting Russia might have been targeting a civilian escape route near Kyiv.

If so, it was part of Russia's larger campaign to demoralize Ukraine by killing and wounding ordinary people, a strategy the Russian military has also used in Syria and Chechnya. Ukraine is now enduring these attacks every day, many of them undocumented.

In Irpin, however, a team of Times journalists happened to be nearby when the mortar shells landed, and one of them, Lynsey Addario, took the photograph of the family. "I thought, you know, it's disrespectful to take a photo, but I have to take a photo — this is a war crime," Lynsey told CBS Evening News. "I think it's really important that people around the world see these images."

In the days since the attack, my colleagues have reconstructed the lives of the four victims: Tetiana Perebyinis and her two children, 18-year-old Mykyta and 9-year-old Alisa, along with Anatoly Berezhnyi, a 26-year-old church volunteer trying to help them to safety.

Serhiy Perebyinis with photos of his wife and children.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Tetiana Perebyinis, who was an accountant, and her husband, Serhiy, a computer programmer, had already escaped war in Ukraine once. Until 2014, they lived in eastern Ukraine, and they fled to Kyiv after Russia fomented a separatist uprising in the east.

"They met in high school but became a couple years later, after meeting again on a dance floor at a Ukrainian nightclub," my colleague Andrew Kramer reports from Kyiv, after speaking with Serhiy this week. "They owned a Chevrolet minivan and shared a country home with friends, and Ms. Perebyinis was a dedicated gardener and an avid skier."

A few weeks ago, before the situation in Kyiv deteriorated, Tetiana's company rented rooms in Poland and encouraged its employees to use them. But Tetiana did not want to leave until she had a plan to evacuate her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. Finally, around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Tetiana and her children began their journey, while Serhiy was trapped in eastern Ukraine, tending to his ailing mother.

By mid-morning on Sunday, Tetiana, Mykyta and Alisa had all been killed, alongside Berezhnyi, the church volunteer. Berezhnyi had moved his wife to western Ukraine but returned himself to Irpin to help others evacuate.

"The whole world should know what is happening here," Serhiy said. Read the rest of the family's story.

Rescuers carried a pregnant woman from a hospital in Mariupol.Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press

Attack on a hospital

The civilian death toll continued to rise yesterday.

A Russian strike hit a hospital in Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian city near the Russian border. The complex included a children's clinic and a maternity ward. Video showed blown-out windows in the hospital and a crater, more than 10 feet deep, in a courtyard.
It was another apparent instance of Russia's efforts to destroy civilian infrastructure in Mariupol. Residents there have been without power, water and heat, cutting down trees to burn for warmth and cooking. "There are just bodies lying in the streets," one resident said.
Russia and Ukraine announced a tentative agreement yesterday to open humanitarian corridors in six cities, supposedly allowing Ukrainians to leave safely. But the only corridor that seemed to be functioning was in Sumy, east of Kyiv.
The United Nations reported that at least 516 civilians had been killed and that it believed the true number was "considerably higher." The Associated Press has documented the civilian toll in these photos, and you can see more Times photos.

Russia "is resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare, encircling cities, cutting off escape routes and pounding the civilian population with heavy ordnance," Jonathan Gimblett, a London-based lawyer who represents the Ukrainian government, said.

State of the War

The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met for about 90 minutes today in Turkey, the highest-level talks since the war began two weeks ago. They did not reach a deal to end the war.
Yesterday, the two sides gestured toward compromise on central issues, including Ukraine's independence, but they remained far apart.
The Kremlin accused the U.S. of waging an "economic war." Russia's currency has lost about 40 percent of its value in a month. Western sanctions "far exceeded" Moscow's expectations, The Times's Max Fisher explains.
The Russian police have arrested more than 13,000 antiwar protesters.

More on Ukraine

Netflix, H&M, Ikea: Here's a running list of companies that are cutting ties with Russia.
Allies of Putin, arriving on private jets and yachts, remain welcome in the United Arab Emirates.

Isolated and sanctioned, Russia increasingly resembles its president, Mikhail Zygar writes in Times Opinion.

THE LATEST NEWS

Politics

The House passed a spending bill that includes billions in aid for Ukraine, but no funding for the U.S. pandemic response.

President Biden signed an executive order aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies.
A grand jury charged Tina Peters, a Republican running for Colorado secretary of state, over accusations of tampering with voting equipment.

MORNING READS

The Charizard Pokemon card.U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia

Charizard: Why the U.S. government now owns a $57,000 Pokémon card.

Great heights: Here comes New York's first supertall tower outside Manhattan.

Bad blood: Elizabeth Holmes's ex-boyfriend hopes to escape the verdict she didn't.

Rats, murders, Coppolas: How well do you know "The Godfather"?

A Times classic: To be more productive, manage your attention, not your time.

Advice from Wirecutter: For a theater-like experience, consider a soundbar.

Lives Lived: The Russian general Evgeny Maslin persuaded Ukraine and other countries to give up their nuclear weapons after the fall of the Soviet Union and helped the U.S. dismantle thousands of them. He died at 84.

ARTS AND IDEAS

"Encanto" is about a magically gifted family in Colombia.Disney

How 'Encanto' became a pop hit

This week, the soundtrack to the Disney film "Encanto," featuring "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and other songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, spent its eighth week at No. 1 on Billboard's album chart. But the soundtrack wasn't always a smash, as Ben Sisario writes, and its newfound success highlights how fans drive hits through social media.

The TikTok-to-streaming pipeline. After the film came to Disney+ in December, fans on TikTok started recreating scenes, performing dances and singing along. Soon after, "Bruno" and other songs from the soundtrack climbed in popularity on streaming platforms.

Radio is often behind the curve. "Bruno" was almost entirely absent from the radio for most of that ascent. Disney did not begin promoting it to stations until late January, and it still gets a fraction of the radio plays of songs by stars like Adele.

Videos enhance the experience. If you get bored of the original songs, YouTube offers variations, including versions of "Bruno" translated into 21 languages or mashed up with other pop songs. Clips on social media help contextualize the songs in a way that radio play never could, Ben writes, and let fans relive the film.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Evan Sung for The New York Times

Larb gai, ground chicken and herbs dressed with lime juice, is popular in Laos. Tejal Rao spotlighted Lao chefs and restaurants in the U.S.

Off Broadway

"The Chinese Lady," about Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman known to have lived in the U.S., is "moving and often sharply funny," Laura Collins-Hughes writes.

What to Read

A South Korean assassin, an Italian child of deaf parents, an inter-caste marriage in India: Broaden your horizons with novels from around the world.

Late Night

Stephen Colbert discussed food companies leaving Russia.

Now Time to Play

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was aromatic. Here is today's puzzle — or you can play online.

Here's today's Wordle. Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Busy airport (three letters).

If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David

P.S. Watch a video of our Morning at Night event — on Ukraine, Covid and Modern Love.

Here's today's front page.

"The Daily" is about Ukraine's embattled cities. On the Modern Love podcast, embracing a polyamorous lifestyle. On "Sway," a discussion about U.S. cyber defenses.

Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.