Member of SEO community and her 2 children killed in Ukraine

We have learned the tragic news that a member of the SEO community has died. Tatiana Perebeinis was the chief accountant for SE Ranking, an SEO platform. 

Tatiana, 43, her two children (Alise, 9, and Nikita, 18) and another man were trying to evacuate from Irpin, Ukraine, when Russian forces fired on them, according to reports.

What happened

On Sunday, the New York Times documented the final moments of their lives.  (Warning: the article contains a graphic image and video of the mortar attack and the aftermath):

“As the mortars got closer to the stream of civilians, people ran, pulling children, trying to find a safe spot. But there was nothing to hide behind. A shell landed in the street, sending up a cloud of concrete dust and leaving one family — a woman, her teenage son and a her daughter, who appeared to be about 8 years old; and a family friend — sprawled on the ground.

Soldiers rushed to help, but the woman and children were dead. A man traveling with them still had a pulse but was unconscious and severely wounded. He later died.

Their luggage, a blue roller suitcase and some backpacks, was scattered about, along with a green carrying case for a small dog that was barking.

Ukrainian forces were engaged in clashes nearby, but not at the site where civilians were moving along the street. Outgoing mortar rounds could be heard from a Ukrainian position about 200 yards away.

The shelling suggested either targeting of the evacuation routes from Irpin, something of which the Ukrainian authorities have accused the Russian army after a railroad track used for evacuations was hit on Saturday, or disregard for the risk of civilian casualties.“

– Lynsey Addario, New York Times

Tatiana had not tried to leave sooner because she was caring for her ailing mother, according to New York Post.

Message from SE Ranking

Here is the complete post that SE Ranking shared via LinkedIn and Facebook, after learning about the death of Tatiana:

“We are devastated to say that yesterday our dear colleague and friend Tatiana Perebeinis, the chief accountant of SE Ranking, was killed together with her two kids by russian mortar artillery.

The family was trying to evacuate from Irpin – a small city right near Kyiv that has been left without water supply, electricity, and heating. 

There are no words to describe our grief or to mend our pain. But for us, it is crucial to not let Tania and her kids Alise and Nikita remain just statistics. Her family became the victim of the unprovoked fire on civilians, which under any law is a crime against humanity. 

The russian army are criminals, and they should be stopped. 

Our hearts are broken. Our prayers are for all Ukrainians, who are fighting for their right to exist.”

Community Reaction

The search community is heartbroken by this news. Here is just a small sampling of the comments from SE Ranking’s Facebook post. 

A large part of SE Ranking’s team are Ukrainian. They published a blog post, How You Can Help Ukrainians Today (SE Ranking Team Included), if you are looking for ways to help.

I’m also talking to the SE Ranking team to get additional details and comments on Tatiana, to help tell her story. I will update this article as soon as I hear back.

About The Author

Danny Goodwin is Senior Editor of Search Engine Land. In addition to writing daily about SEO, PPC, and more for Search Engine Land, Goodwin also manages Search Engine Land’s roster of subject-matter experts. He also helps program our conference series, SMX – Search Marketing Expo.

Prior to joining Search Engine Land, Goodwin was Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal, where he led editorial initiatives for the brand. He also was an editor at Search Engine Watch. He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.