The chief accountant for a Palo Alto technology company and her two children were killed in Ukraine while trying to escape from the city of Irpin, according to an online statement by her company, SE Ranking.
Tatiana Perebeinis and her children, Alise and Nikita, were killed by Russian mortar artillery on Sunday, March 6, while trying to get out of the city northwest of Kyiv, which had no water supply, electricity or heating, according to SE Ranking's Facebook post.
"There are no words to describe our grief or to mend our pain," the post read. "But for us, it is crucial to not let Tania and her kids Alise and Nikita remain just statistics. Her family became the victim of the unprovoked fire on civilians, which under any law is a crime against humanity."
Perebeinis had worked for SE Ranking for five and a half years and was one of the first employees to join the firm's Kyiv office, company spokesperson Ksenia Khirvonina said in an email.
Khirvonina remembered her colleague as an expert in financial regulations who would patiently answer questions from co-workers and clearly explain all the nuances of an issue.
"The whole team adored Tania. You could always ask her for some personal advice or share your worries — she would find the right words for everyone," Khirvonina said. "Tania had a wonderful sense of humor. She was a great storyteller and would always make us laugh by telling funny stories about her kids, her husband, or the apartment remodeling."
After the Russian military invaded Ukraine, Perebeinis's apartment building was destroyed and she was forced to shelter in the basement, Khirvonina said. According to SE Ranking's Facebook post, she and her two children were killed while trying to evacuate on Sunday.
"We have no words to address those finding excuses for this war — only curses," Khirvonina said.
The Russian military's invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24. As of the end of the day local time on Tuesday, March 8, the United Nations had confirmed that 516 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, with another 908 injured. The United Nations reported that the true numbers are likely considerably higher.
SE Ranking has offices in both Palo Alto and London, according to its website, and wrote in a March 1 blog post that a large part of its team are Ukrainian. Khirvonina said that roughly half of the company's employees are based in Ukraine.
"Some of us have spent days on the road striving to bring our families to a safer place," content marketer and editor Svetlana Shchehel wrote in the March 1 post. "Some are still in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine, trying to do their daily routine to the sounds of air raid sirens. All of us feel scared and devastated, but also hopeful and strong."
According to the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census, there are about 114,146 residents in Santa Clara County who report having Ukrainian ancestry. In recent weeks, local Ukrainians and their allies have held rallies to urge greater U.S. support for Ukraine in the conflict.
Read more:
• As Russian invasion continues, local Ukrainians find allies in their communities
With their native land in crisis, the Ukrainian population in Palo Alto, Mountain View and other Peninsula cities has become increasingly visible and active over the past week.
• 'We still believe in peace': College Terrace residents lead vigil to support Ukraine
In a gesture of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, dozens of Palo Alto residents gathered Tuesday night in a College Terrace park for a candlelight vigil where they offered words of support and prayers for peace.
• Neighbors Abroad steps up to raise money for Ukrainian refugees
The Palo Alto organization has launched the Ukrainian Emergency Children's Relief Fund to raise money to buy food, clothing and basic supplies for people fleeing from the crisis in Ukraine.
• Bay Area legislators back sanctions on Russia after Ukraine invasion
With the Russian Federation launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rep. Anna Eshoo and other legislators from the Bay Area denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and backed sanctions announced by the U.S. and its allies.
Comments
Registered user
Stanford
on Mar 9, 2022 at 11:10 am
Registered user
on Mar 9, 2022 at 11:10 am
This is so very sad. I went to a rally at Stanford last week that included speeches by Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco (Dmytro Kushneruk) and Michael McFaul (former U.S. ambassador to Russia and the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford). The speeches were inspiring, but there were less than 200 people to hear them. The event was not well-advertised. I hope that the President and Provost of Stanford University and the Director of Hoover Institution will promote these events in the future. As McFaul said - this cannot be about politics or about strategy - it is about right and wrong, good and evil.
Registered user
another community
on Mar 9, 2022 at 11:25 am
Registered user
on Mar 9, 2022 at 11:25 am
I see Michael McFaul frequently on cable news shows.....very smart guy. Stanford is lucky to have him.
Registered user
Professorville
on Mar 9, 2022 at 12:39 pm
Registered user
on Mar 9, 2022 at 12:39 pm
I recognize that government is complex; however, if we do not act faster and more decisively in truly helping the Ukraine, we will see many more of these young people being killed by devastating tools Putin will use. Yes, this is all about humanity for us but not for him. For Putin it is all about power.
Now is the time to act, not two weeks from now when many more innocent people have died.
I would like to see the Ukraine and the Western world capture many young Russian soldiers who have witnessed these horrors. Treat them decently, and then send them home to so they can tell their families of what really happened. Putin will fail if all or most of Russia will make him fail.
Rest in Peace, dear Tatiana, Alise and Nikita. The world owed you more!
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Mar 9, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Registered user
on Mar 9, 2022 at 6:37 pm
YES!! Anneke - that is the right way to do it - "I would like to see the Ukraine and the Western world capture many young Russian soldiers who have witnessed these horrors. Treat them decently, and then send them home to so they can tell their families of what really happened."
The people, including the soldiers, do not want killing. It is only the power-hungry and -blinded "leaders" who consider the rest of us nothing more than tin soldiers that can be tromped on at their whim. How do we make your idea happen?
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 12, 2022 at 7:54 pm
Registered user
on Mar 12, 2022 at 7:54 pm
Give what you can to aid organizations. Then please, please, please, work on getting turnout for the November midterm Congressional elections nationwide. If the Republicans get a majority, as they will unless Democrats get their act together over turnout, we'll be back in crazy land with the Republicans dismantling our federal government and doing nothing about corruption. Tmp will once again be the de facto head of the party and his disinformation-and deference to Putin--will once again be elevated in regular media. Democrats who are already working so hard to clean up after 4 years of that and restore our alliances and international reputation, which is working, will be undone again. Democracy and the rule of law will suffer as we all have witnessed how Republicans do nothing about corruption and will undo the work of trying to hold people accountable for Jan 6. I'm sure Putin knows the Republicans are more likely to win and is probably counting on this.
If the Republicans get the majority in November, it will hurt the international response, not only to this crisis, but to the climate crisis--the chance to act during this extremely narrow window the next few years will be lost.
Web Link
Most people do not understand the implications of a majority in Congress.
Web Link
People who care about the effectiveness and competence of our government, need to step up and work on the specific task of effectively turning out Democratic voters in the midterms. This is probably the most important election of our lives, and people don't even realize it. Give money to support Ukraine, but please use your energy for both, or for the November election, because if it looks like Republicans will win, Putin knows he just has to hold out against the international alliances til then.