A girl who was swept out to sea in June was found dead

Local residents discovered the body of a young girl in the water near the shore, in the vicinity of the town of Pivdenne in the Odesa region, and pulled it ashore.

This was reported by the press office of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region.

Police believe the body is that of Sofia Potemkina, who was swept out to sea on an inflatable ring from the beach in the village of Sychavka in the Odesa region. On June 25, rescuers suspended the active phase of search operations at sea. At the same time, the service continued aerial monitoring using drones. 

The young girl and her great-grandmother went into the sea to swim at an unofficial beach—where recreation is prohibited—near one of the vacation resorts in the village of Sychavka, Pivdennivska Community. Due to a strong current, the child, who was on an inflatable ring, began to be swept out into deeper water. Her great-grandmothertried to savethe girl but was unable to do so.

Following the child’s disappearance, investigators entered the information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under paragraph 2 of part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, with the note “missing without a trace.”

This is not the first case of a child going missing in the water in the Odesa region. For example, in January 2026, divers from the State Emergency Service resumed thesearch for Igor Andreyko, who went missing from a beach in Chornomorsk, Odesa Oblast, on July 28 during a storm that same year. The search was suspended several times due to various circumstances.

As of October 21, rescuers had searched 3,638.4 square meters of the seabed and 1,307 kilometers of coastline. They plan to resume the search as soon as the search for the fisherman is completed. Meanwhile, the police are also continuing to search for the young man.

On July 28, there was a storm in Chornomorsk, but people continued to swim. Ihor Andreyko went missing, and two people died on the beach that same day. Chornomorsk Mayor Vasyl Hulyayev stated at the time that rescuers pulled a total of 50 people out of the water that day, 10 of whom were children. 

 Rescuers began searching for theboy on July 29. Due to weather conditions—strong winds and large waves—it was impossible for the diving team to conduct search operations on July 28. Therefore, the search began in the morning. However, the boy’s body was not found.

Кирило Бойко