AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The Easter ceasefire the Kremlin announced has not held, according to statements online by both the Russian Defence Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a separate Easter message, Zelenskyy reflected on deadly missile attacks on Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odessa and a Palm Sunday strike on Sumy that killed at least 35 people. From Sumy, here's NPR's Joanna Kakissis.
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JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: In the lobby of Sumy's local music college, there's a memorial to Olena Kohut, killed on Palm Sunday at age 46. A framed portrait shows a woman with thick chestnut hair and a Mona Lisa smile. Nearby, a TV plays a video of Kohut performing an organ solo.
NATALYA TSYBULKO: This is my Olenychka (ph).
KAKISSIS: "My Olenychka," says her mother, Natalia Tsybulko (ph), using her daughter's childhood nickname.
TSYBULKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "She had such a touch," Tsybulko says. "When she sat down to play that organ, she made it sing like a voice."
Tsybulko is a slight woman in her 70s and a classically trained singer. When her only daughter was born, she brought the baby to all her concerts.
TSYBULKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "And when she was a year and 7 months old," she says, "I remember pushing her stroller and suddenly hearing..."
TSYBULKO: (Singing in Russian).
KAKISSIS: Her baby daughter was singing, loud and clear. As a child, her daughter fell in love with the piano and the organ. She grew up to become a soloist with the local philharmonic. She was featured last year in this Ukrainian documentary about the sounds of Sumy.
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KAKISSIS: She talked about mixing contemporary and classical music.
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OLENA KOHUT: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "So why experiment?" she told the interviewer. "Because we want to encourage people to listen."
Kohut also taught classes at the music college, where her mother is a longtime vocal teacher.
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KAKISSIS: Her mother returns to the classroom alone.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: (Singing in Italian).
KAKISSIS: As a student sings an Italian aria, Tsybulko wipes away tears, remembering her daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: (Singing in Italian).
TSYBULKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "We performed Italian arias together all the time," she says, covering her face.
NADIA HRYN: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: After class, Nadia Hryn, who runs the music college, comforts Tsybulko. She makes the grieving mother a coffee spiced with pepper, cardamom and a few drops of strong Slovak liquor.
HYRN: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "The horror and the cruelty, we feel it every day," Hryn says, referring to Russian attacks. "We tell each other to have a safe day, a safe night, a quiet evening."
Tsybulko says the day her daughter was killed runs like a loop through her head.
TSYBULKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "My son-in-law calling me and weeping, Mom, Olena is no longer with us," she says. He was holding her body in his arms. She cannot bear her daughter's absence, so she finds a video on her phone...
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KAKISSIS: ...Of her daughter playing a piano solo.
TSYBULKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "Beautiful music," she says. "Such beautiful music."
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in non-English language).
KAKISSIS: Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Sumy, Ukraine. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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