Silicon Valley tech worker ID’d as Ukrainian mom in war photo

The Ukrainian mother lying dead on the street along with her family in the wartime photo of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been identified as a Silicon Valley tech employee, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for tech startup for SE Ranking said the mother in the photo is its chief accountant, Tatiana Perebeinis, and her son and daughter, Nikita and Alise, who were killed by Russian forces as they fled their native town of Irpin for safety.

Perebeinis, 43, along with her children, dashed across the partially damaged bridge over the Irpin river to the capital city of Kyiv when Russian forces fired a mortar blast, according to the Chronicle. 

The photo of the family sprawled on the ground, taken by Lynsey Addario, ran on the front page of the New York Times the next day. 

Perebeinis, who was hired by the company in 2016, stayed behind when the invasion started due to her ailing mother and her son, 18, being ordered along with all Ukrainian men to stay behind and help defend the country in case. 

“For me as her colleague it’s a tragedy to see those pictures,” Khirvonina told the Chronicle. “They show that it’s real. On the other hand they prove that (the) Russian army and Putin himself are monsters who deserve no mercy for their doings.”

Khirvonina, who fled to Dubai from Ukraine last month, described Perebeinis as “a  very friendly, brave, courageous woman” who always cheered on her colleagues, citing her as a “big sister” to everyone, The Chronicle reported.

She noted that the company helped Perebeinis’ husband, Sergii, fly to Kyiv to arrange funeral plans for his wife and children, The Chronicle noted.