Ukrainian Girl Who Escaped War Tragically Dies On Way To Visit Disneyland

A Ukrainian girl who escaped the horrors of the country's war with Russia has died in a vehicle accident on her way to Disneyland Paris.

Anja Plankevych, 7, was on a visit to the French capital for a vacation with her parents Kristina, 32, and Roman, 33, and brother Dmitrijj when she was killed in a traffic accident on July 3.

According to German outlet Bild, the Ukrainian refugee was fatally struck by a taxi near the Arc de Triomphe and died instantly.

The family had planned to visit Disneyland Paris the following day as part of a dream outing for Anja.

Bild reported the driver is now under investigation for negligent homicide. A drug and alcohol test performed following the crash returned a negative result.

Family friend Dr. Jana Emmerich told the outlet: "The family was out shopping and wanted to take the [subway] back to their accommodation late in the evening.

"They stood on a traffic island at a pedestrian crossing and crossed the roadway when it was still green. While a waiting car driver signaled them to move on, a taxi driver accelerated at the same time."

She added that Anja's parents want the person held responsible to face full punishment in court.

Anja and her family arrived in the west German town of Marl, where she will be buried, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

Following the outbreak of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, millions of civilians fled the country and took refuge in many European countries and beyond.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 1 million Ukrainians have sought refuge in Germany as of July 10 this year.

Vest Ohne Grenzen (Vest Without Borders), which assists refugee children and young people to integrate into German society, praised Anja in a message shared on social media.

In a July 5 Facebook post a spokesperson said: "In particular, we accompanied the quirky seven-year-old girl Anja (lovingly called Anni by the choir children) in her first steps of integration in Germany - whether when registering in primary school, in the dance club, in the children's choir 'Bunaspatzen' or flute lessons.

"Now we have the heartbreaking news that Anja lost her young life in a car accident. Our thoughts are with her family who we would like to offer our deepest condolences."

The organization has started a fundraiser for the family following Anja's death, which it shared on its Facebook page.

Lucky Tattoo by Pascal, which employs Roman as one of its tattoo artists, shared a Facebook post about the tragedy on July 12.

It read: "We express our opinion on this publicly for the first time, because we too as a team have been hit hard and are in deep grief.

"Our thoughts are with Roman, his wonderful wife, and his family. We all [hold] Anja very dear and cannot comprehend this misfortune."

Newsweek has contacted Vest Without Borders, Paris police, and Disneyland Paris for comment via email.