A five-year-old Ukrainian girl who had fled the country after the Russian invasion has been killed by an 18-year-old man driving a van in Italy, local media reports said.

       The girl, identified as Taia, had arrived in Crotone last month along with her mother Luda, reported local news outlet Corriere.

       Since the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, millions of Ukrainians have fled the country to save themselves from the war.

       Last week the UN said that more than three million people have now fled Ukraine since Vladimir Putin’s war began.

       On Sunday, Taia had left the farmhouse where she was staying with her mother’s cousin for a walk.

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       She was accompanied by her 16-year-old cousin who is also Ukrainian and her boyfriend, also 16, when the incident occurred.

       They were walking in a single line down a road around 6:30pm when they were spotted by an 18-year-old who drove his van towards them. On Wednesday, the 18-year-old was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, reported local news agency Ansa.

       The man, whose identity has not been made public, allegedly deliberately drove his van towards the trio in an attempt to strike Taia’s cousin’s boyfriend.

       Local reports said that he was interested in Taia’s cousin and was competing for her affection with the other teenage boy.

       The van struck Taia’s cousin’s boyfriend and the young child was thrown out of her cousin’s arms and hit her head on the road and died on the spot.

       The man’s father reportedly called an ambulance and tried to take responsibility for the incident.

       The 44-year-old has been charged for making false statements.

       Local reports said that the 18-year-old only had a provisional license and had been reported twice earlier for driving without a license, in March and August 2020.

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       While Taia’s cousin was not hurt in the incident, her boyfriend sustained injuries but is reportedly recovering.

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