Themes by tag: dead

Tribute exhibition commemorating Hero of Ukraine Andrii Pilshchykov, call sign “Juice”, will open on April 17 at one of Kyiv’s libraries. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the life and legacy of the legendary Ukrainian defender through materials provided by his mother, Liliia Averianova.

For reference: Andrii Pilshchykov (1993–2023), a military pilot with the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade, played a key role in Ukraine’s air defense from the outset of the full-scale Russian invasion. Known widely as one of the figures behind the “Ghost of Kyiv” legend, he was posthumously conferred the title Hero of Ukraine in 2024. He also received the Order “For Courage” III Class in 2022 and II Class posthumously in 2023.

Recognized as a leading reformer of the Air Force, Pilshchykov made a significant impact on its development. In June 2022, he joined an official delegation to the United States, helping to secure the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and laying the groundwork for pilot training. He died on August 25, 2023, in the Zhytomyr region and was buried at Askold’s Grave in Kyiv.

• culture
• dead
• military
• Kyiv

Yuliia and Serhii shared 27 years of a happy marriage. Together, they raised two daughters, Victoriia and Valeriia. The couple built their home with their own hands – Serhii oversaw the construction, while Yuliia, skilled in painting and plasterwork, contributed her expertise. Their teamwork eventually grew into a small family business, renovating apartments from start to finish.

Russia’s full-scale invasion found the couple at home in the Kyiv region. On the war’s first day, Serhii attempted to enlist in the Armed Forces, but long lines at military registration offices held him back. For a year, he kept trying – and in the meantime, he volunteered.

He later joined the 15th Border Guard Detachment. Though frequently deployed to the front line, Serhii always managed to send a few words to his wife. But after one mission, he never came back. For his unwavering commitment and courage, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal “For the Defense of Ukraine.”

For reference: The Children of Heroes charitable foundation is currently supporting the family. The organization assists children who have lost one or both parents due to Russia’s full-scale invasion by providing financial aid, psychological and legal support, and resources for education and personal development until they reach adulthood.

• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

On April 15, Kyiv will host a screening of “Shadows on the Left Bank” – an investigative film by Danylo Mokryk exposing russian atrocities in the occupied Kherson oblast.

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, much of Kherson oblast, including the village of Hornostaivka (Kakhovka district), fell under Russian control. The occupiers turned the local national police station into a torture chamber where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were detained.

A team of journalists from The Kyiv Independent uncovered the identities of several victims who perished at the torture site, as well as the names of “officers” of the occupation “police” responsible for torturing and killing Kherson residents.

The documentary centers on the murder of 28-year-old Hornostaivka resident Ruslan Rusnak, an ATO veteran who was abducted by russian occupiers in November 2023 and tortured to death in the former police station.

During the event, the film’s creators – Danylo Mokryk, a journalist from the Head of War Crimes Investigations Unit, and Yevheniia Motorevska, Head of War Crimes Investigations Unit (The Kyiv Independent) – will speak about the story behind the film creation and the progress of the investigation.

Accreditation is required to attend the event.

• culture
• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Nataliia Tarabalka, mother of the late Ukrainian Hero and renowned fighter pilot Stepan Tarabalka, has opened a rehabilitation center for service members in memory of her son, who was killed in an air battle in March 2022.

Working with a psychologist helped Nataliia process her grief. Inspired by this experience, she used the state compensation she received for her son’s death to establish the “Warmth of a Winged Soul” rehabilitation center in Prykarpattia. The facility offers both physical and psychological support for active-duty and former military personnel.

Nataliia Tarabalka is available for consultations—both in person in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region, and online—by appointment.

For reference: Captain Stepan Tarabalka, 29, was killed in an aerial battle on March 13, 2022, in the skies over Zhytomyr. On the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion alone, he reportedly shot down six enemy aircraft, including a Su-27, MiG-29, two Su-35s, and two Su-25s. Flying a MiG-29, he went on to destroy a total of 40 enemy aircraft. Tarabalka served with the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force, which in 2024 was awarded the honorary title “The Ghost of Kyiv.”

• dead
• military
• women
• Ivano-Frankivsk

Anna and Andrii met four years before russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The couple had planned to marry in 2022, but the war upended their plans. After the invasion began, Andrii joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, serving in the 47th Magura Brigade as a senior mechanic and driver of a Bradley fighting vehicle.

The couple finally wed in March 2023. That summer, Andrii was wounded in combat. He was fortunate: shrapnel missed his carotid artery by mere millimeters. After recovering, he returned to the front lines. Anna saw him for the last time in the fall of 2023. On October 19, 2023, Andrii Lukivskyi was killed in action in the Donetsk region.

Anna was notified of his death the following day. She was told the bodies of the fallen had been brought to Kyiv, but she received no further updates. Desperate for answers, she launched her own search. For ten months, she looked for any trace of her husband. Eventually, she found him—his body was listed among the unidentified in the Ministry of Internal Affairs database.

What led to the breakthrough was a handwritten note Anna had given Andrii the day before his final mission. He had taken it with him, and it was found with his remains. That note became the key to confirming his identity.

Later, Anna learned that a DNA match between the “unidentified soldier” and Andrii’s family—his mother and sister—had already been established. But the relatives were never informed.

Anna Lukivska is available for interviews both online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• dead
• women
• Kyiv

On April 7, at the Media Center Ukraine, the Media Initiative for Human Rights will present the research “Interaction with military units and support for families of fallen and missing service members”. 

The event will address the most common problems faced by families of fallen and missing servicemen in their interactions with military units and territorial recruitment centers; as well as how the state can improve its interaction with families and make it less traumatic.

Speakers:

• Olena Kopina, Author of the Analysis, Expert, MIHR;
• Olena Bieliachkova, Coordinator for Groups of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing Soldiers, MIHR;
• Yulia Sharapaniuk, Head of the Association of Families of Missing Soldiers and Prisoners of War; 
• Dmytro Bohatiuk, Head of the Department for Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances of the Secretariat of the Ombudsman;
• Oleh Neshchadim, Head of the Search Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Registration for the event is required.

• dead
• military

A commemorative race honoring Maksym Kahal, a Hero of Ukraine and soldier with the Azov Special Forces detachment, is scheduled for March 30.

Known by the call sign “Piston” (Percussion Cap) Kahal was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. He served as a senior lieutenant with the Azov Special Forces, commanding a fire support platoon within the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion. Beyond his military service, Kahal was a decorated athlete, crowned ISKA World Kickboxing Champion among adults and earning numerous other sports accolades.

Kahal was killed on March 25, 2022, while defending Mariupol. He was just 30 years old.

The race is being organized by the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families. 

Registration for the event is required.

• dead
• military
• Kyiv

On March 30, as the third anniversary of Bucha’s liberation from russian occupiers approaches, the Kyiv region city will host a series of events to commemorate the victims of russian aggression.

The program of events includes:

– A requiem ceremony to honor the fallen heroes,

– The “Prayer for Peace” action, a memorial service for the civilian victims in Bucha, featuring a performance of the spiritual hymn “Prayer for Ukraine,”

– The presentation of the book Voices of Memory: Bucha – The City of Heroes.

Bucha, now a symbol of the unyielding spirit of the Ukrainian people and a stark reminder of the horrific war crimes committed by the russian army, will unite the families of the victims, local residents, government officials, and the international community. Together, they will pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for Ukraine’s freedom.

For reference: During the fighting and russian occupation of Bucha in February and March 2022, hundreds of people lost their lives. Since then, the name of this town near Kyiv has become forever associated with the war crimes perpetrated by the russian army in Ukraine.

• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On March 16, Ukraine will hold an annual event to honor the victims of the Mariupol Drama Theater tragedy. Mariupol residents and all those who remember are invited to light candles near theater buildings across the country in a tribute to those lost.

Commemorative gatherings will take place in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Zaporizhia (March 15), Ivano-Frankivsk, Kalush, Lviv, Kyiv, Kamianske, Kremenchuk, Rivne, Ternopil, Uzhhorod, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa.

Background: On March 16, 2022, russian forces dropped bombs on the Mariupol Drama Theater, despite the russian word for “children,” “ДЕТИ”(DETY), written in large, clearly visible white letters on the pavement outside the building. At the time, hundreds of Mariupol families were sheltering there, seeking refuge from relentless russian shelling. The attack claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians, including children.

The Mariupol Drama Theater has since become a harrowing symbol—of brutality and destruction, of Mariupol’s suffering, of Ukraine’s pain. It remains an enduring testament to a russian war crime the world must never forget.

• children
• dead
• russian crimes
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv
• Odesa

Researchers from the Chernihiv historical museum named after V. Tarnovskyi travel to the village of Yahidne, Chernihiv oblast, to collect eyewitness testimony. (In the spring of 2022, russian occupiers detained over 300 local residents in inhumane conditions in the basement of the school for almost a month).

Since September 2023, historians have been documenting historical artifacts in Yahidne. They have examined and described over 1,000 objects, including clothing, shoes, personal items, backpacks, books, empty russian military ration boxes, antiseptic tubes, russian newspapers, wooden pallets used for sitting and sleeping, plastic water bottles used as makeshift toilets. Experts recorded descriptions of all basement rooms and photographed artifacts found throughout the village, including remnants of enemy equipment, uniforms and ammunition boxes.

At the request of the regional authorities, copies of occupation documents found in Yahidne have been turned over to the museum.

All documented artifacts will remain in place. There are plans to create a memorial complex in Yahidne, including the school basement where civilians were imprisoned.

Journalists can learn more, join researchers on the ground, and see the historical artifacts firsthand.

Background: Yahidne is a village near Chernihiv. At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, the occupying forces set up their headquarters in the local school. In its basement they imprisoned 299 adults and 67 children – almost the entire population of the village. The basement was only 197 square meters, forcing people to sleep sitting up, with limited oxygen. Ten people died as a result of the horrific conditions.

In February 2023, a photograph of the Yahidne basement appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv