VLADIMIR PUTIN was left squirming in front of cameras after an 11-year-old girl bravely confronted him about how her wounded uncle was sent back to the frontline without proper medical care.
The emotional exchange took place on Red Square in Moscow, where schoolgirl Kira Pimenova challenged the Russian dictator in front of priests and officials.
Kira Pimenova, left, with her younger sister Anastasia, 7Credit: East2West
Tragic Kira, 11, confronts Putin over wounded uncle, sent to fight in war despite after being refused medical treatmentCredit: East2West
It was a rare and shocking moment – a child daring to expose the cruel reality of how Russia’s injured soldiers are treated.
Kira’s uncle, Anton Fisyura, 46, had been wounded in the arm but was ordered back to fight before he could recover.
“My uncle is at the front now,” Kira told Putin. “He was wounded in the arm, he was in hospital.”
She didn’t mince her words.
“They’re not treating him at all, and now they are sending him back on a mission,” she said firmly. “I would like him to be transferred to a good hospital in Russia.”
Putin, looking visibly uncomfortable, nodded and muttered: “We’ll definitely find him, all right?”
But the strongman leader stopped short of promising to pull the wounded soldier off the front line.
Observers said it was a humiliating moment for Putin – rarely does anyone, let alone a child, confront him over the cannon-fodder conditions facing his troops.
The heartbreaking plea was made even more tragic by the fact that Kira has already lost her father, Vladimir Pimenov, 36, who was killed last year fighting in the Donetsk region.
The youngster – from Siberia – didn’t mention her father’s death to the Russian ruler but focused instead on saving her uncle.
Kira, determined to make sure Putin didn’t forget, told him clearly: “Anton Fisyura.”
The dictator replied: “Certainly. Thank you for remembering him,” before kissing her on the head and swiftly moving on.
Kira’s family has paid a heavy price for the war.
Her father was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage after his death.
She has two other uncles still fighting on the frontline.
Her mother, Viktoria Pimenova, works as a lawyer for the Committee of Families of Warriors of the Fatherland – a group representing relatives of mobilised soldiers.
Kira and her seven-year-old sister, Anastasia, have been left fatherless by Putin’s war.
During their brief meeting, Kira offered the president a handmade Cheburashka – a beloved Soviet-era toy with big round ears – which she knitted herself.
“I knitted the Cheburashka toy for my uncle Anton, then for uncle Vanya and uncle Yura, who are now defending the Motherland,” she said proudly.
“My toys will definitely bring them luck.”
The moment, caught on camera, has spread rapidly online, drawing sympathy for the girl – and fresh criticism of the Kremlin’s treatment of injured soldiers.
Critics say thousands of wounded troops are being forced back into battle despite needing urgent care, as the Russian army struggles to replace its huge losses.
But for one brave little girl, the truth of Putin’s war came down to a single plea – a desperate attempt to save what’s left of her family.
Vladimir Pimenov, 36, Kira Pimenova’s late father with wife ViktoriaCredit: East2West
Vladimir Pimenov, 36, Kira Pimenova’s late fatherCredit: East2West
Critics say thousands of wounded troops are being forced back into battle despite needing urgent careCredit: East2West 
