Husband and father, Serhiy Perebyinis, lost his wife and children, who were killed in the bombing as they were fleeing Kiev.
Tatiana Perebeinis, 43, children Mykyta, 18; Alisa, 9 years old; and Anatoly Berezhnyi, 26, a church volunteer who was helping them escape, were killed by Russian forces while running across a damaged bridge in Irpin.
A photo of their troops scattered across the sidewalk prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to promise to kill "every bastard" responsible for the indiscriminate massacre of civilians.
Serhiy Perebyinis, was in eastern Ukraine caring for his ailing mother when his family was killed. He learned the news through a viral photo on Twitter and distinguished them from the suitcases that they were his wife and children.
He burst into tears talking about the senseless murders during an interview with The New York Times.
"I'm sorry I could not protect you," he said as he recounted their conversation Saturday night. "I tried to take care of a person and that meant I could not protect you."
Perebyinis said he thought it was important that images of the macabre death of his wife and children had angered Ukrainian leaders and touched the hearts of people across the globe.
"The whole world should know what is happening here, " he told the newspaper.
