[46525] Commemorating the victims of the war in Ukraine: The stories of fallen civilians and soldiers

Memory and Heroism: Stories of the Fallen in Ukraine

As part of a joint memorial project with the "Memorial" platform, several media outlets in Ukraine are publishing personal stories today of civilians and military personnel killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion. The reports, which highlight the heavy human cost of the war, provide a glimpse into the lives and heroism of the victims.

According to a report by Українська правда, the newspaper that reports from a pro-Ukrainian stance and sharply criticizes Russian aggression, the story of 50-year-old Volodymyr Bolshak, a resident of Chernihiv, was described. Bolshak was killed in March 2022 when a Russian bomb hit a dormitory in the city. His wife, Iryna, who survived the attack, described the difficult moments: "I heard the hum of a plane, the sound of an explosion. After that, I thought I was dead."

At the same time, 24 Канал | Новини України, which is identified with a resolute Ukrainian national stance, published the story of Alina Akinina, a nursing student who was killed in November 2025 in the Kherson region. Akinina was killed along with her young son, Vladyslav, after the Russian army dropped an explosive device from a drone onto their car. Alina was described as someone who dreamed of helping people and worked at a local hospital.

From a report by Фокус, which presents in-depth analysis and Ukrainian military coverage, the story of sailor Andriy Dmytrenko, known by the nickname "Boroda" (Beard), emerged. Dmytrenko, 26 at the time of his death, fell on March 22, 2022, in the battles in Mariupol. He was a tank commander in the 36th Marine Brigade and was described by his mother as the "soul of the company" and as someone who displayed exceptional courage on the battlefield: "He destroyed two enemy tanks by himself," his mother Olesia recounted regarding the difficult battles her son went through.