NEED TO KNOW

• An interpreter started to cry while sharing an 11-year-old boy's testimony at the European Parliament in Brussels

• "Sorry, I am a bit emotional as well,” the woman said in an moment captured on film

• The child has become a symbol of the Russia-Ukraine War and met three times with the late Pope Francis

An interpreter broke down in tears while translating an 11-year-old Ukrainian boy’s testimony about his mother’s death in a Russian missile strike.

Recently, Roman Oleksiv testified at the European Parliament in Brussels of his last moments with his mother before she was killed by Russian forces in central Ukraine in 2022.

In footage that has since by shared across the globe, an interpreter became so emotional while translating for the young boy that she struggled to continue.

“Hello to everybody, my name is Roman, I am 11 years old, I’m from Ukraine, and I’m now living in Lviv,” the interpreter began after Oleksiv introduced himself to the audience, according to video shared by the BBC and The Independent.

“On the 14th of July 2022… Sorry, I am a bit emotional as well,” the woman said as she stopped to use a tissue before continuing to speak on behalf of the boy.

However, when Oleksiv spoke calmly in Ukrainian about "the last time I saw my mother," the interpreter paused and shook her head as her eyes filled with tears.

“I will help you, no worries,” a man off-camera told the interpreter, before translating the child’s statements.

Visibly still emotional, the woman put her hands on the little boy’s shoulder and then nodded her head at him to continue.

Oleksiv has become a symbol of the carnage of the war in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded the smaller country in February 2022.

Since then, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or injured, while Ukraine has lost between 60,000 and 100,000 troops, with total casualties nearing 400,000, The Guardian reported in June.

When the Ukrainian hospital was hit in the summer of 2022, Oleksiv suffered dangerous burns. In total, 28 people died, including his mother, and more than 200 were injured, according to the Vatican's news service.

Following the devastating strike, Oleksiv met with the Pope Francis three times as part of the “Alliance Unbroken Kids” before the leader of the Catholic Church’s death.

Oleksiv, an aspiring ballroom dancer, had to undergo multiple surgeries after the bombing. He was later featured in an award-winning short film, Romchyk, which was shot by students at Goldsmiths, University of London, the BBC reported. The film was later shown to the Pope during the Vatican's International Summit on Children's Rights, according to the outlet.

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Kostiantyn Bidnenko was inspired to create the film after he read an article about the injured child, who dreams of becoming a professional dancer.

He told the BBC, "For me, he became a symbol of all children who suffer because of war.”

Read the original article on People