A Ukrainian woman, Irna Filinka was killed by Russian troops while riding her bicycle. Her body was identified by the unique heart manicure on the ring finger of her left hand. And her death was confirmed when her friends saw the image.

Olha Shchyruk, Filkina’s daughter, hadn't heard from her mom in a month. She fled her home in Bucha, Ukraine during the Russian invasion. 

And although she wasn’t able to reach her mom, she remained hopeful. But all her hopes were dashed when the terrible images of the chaos in Bucha surfaced this weekend. 

Her mom, a 52-year-old training to be a makeup artist, was among the dead in Bucha. And the body was identified by her pink and purple heart manicure.

Her mother who worked as a heating station operator was in training to become a make-up artist. And she was shot by Russian forces while riding her bicycle.

In an Instagram post, Olha talked about the loss of her mother.

“Today is exactly a month, from the day my mother no longer writes to me: how is my mother’s mouse?” Olha wrote. And posted pictures of her mom in happier times.

“And all I can do is cry,” she continued.  “She was shot in the middle of the street, less than 15 minutes away … a bullet the size of my finger.”

“I understand that it wasn’t possible because she hadn’t been in touch for a month,” she told the paper. “But a child will always be waiting for her mother.”

Heart manicure tells the story

A Reuters photographer captured an image of Iryna’s hand while photographing the dead in Bucha.

Iryna Filkina’s manicure was unique. On the nail of her ring finger, she had painted a pink and purple heart. It made the identification possible. 

Her friend Anastasiia Subacheva, is a makeup artist in the nearby town of Gostomel. She told the New York Times that she immediately recognized her friend's hand.

“When I saw it, I felt physical like my heart started to break,” she explained.

Subacheva has worked in the suburbs around Bucha for five years. She told the Times that Filkina had started getting lessons in February. And her dream was to become a make-up artist and manicurist.

The woman wanted her help learning how to become fashionable, to make a living as a make-up artist, Subacheva recounted.

In their talks, Subacheva said that Filkina claimed, “I finally understood the most important thing. You need to love yourself and live for yourself. Finally, I will live the way I want.”

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