KIEV (Dagbladet): Hundreds of faces stare at passersby in the magnificent square outside the St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kiev. The faces are attached to the posters and under the photos of the women and men there are two dates:
Date of birth and date of death.
– He was a very positive person. He was an incredibly nice guy, says Ksenia Jakushenko (26) as she hangs half a dozen red roses next to Danylo Kyrychenko’s poster.
Under his portrait there are two dates:
20.10.1996 and 15.04. 2022.
Enlisted in 2014
When war broke out in Donbas in eastern Ukraine in 2014, 17-year-old Ksenia Yakushenko fled to the capital.
Classmate Danylo Kyrychenko refused to flee. He wanted to fight.
At 17 he enlisted in the Aidar battalion in Luhansk, one of the two counties that make up Donbas, and the following year he joined the Azov battalion. For eight years, Kyrychenko fought against Russian hybrid forces and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas.
Then Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Kyrychenko and the Azov battalion were assigned to defend the strategically important port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, but were eventually surrounded and besieged by Vladimir Putin’s relentless war machine.
The city was reduced to rubble and the Ukrainian forces were pushed further and further back until they reached the Azovstal steelworks.
Kyrychenko was killed here in a Russian artillery attack on April 15.
– He always played football
The class that Ksenia Jakushenko and Danylo belonged to in the city of Luhansk was very small. Everyone knew each other well and what characterized Danylo was his good humor, Jakusjenko tells Dagbladet.
And his burning interest in football.
Ukrainian soldier: – He must beat the Russians
– I remember him as a child, he always played football and was a big supporter of the Luhansk Zorja club, says Jakusjenko.
She smiles and sniffs at each other, reaching out of the corner of her eye to wipe away her tears.
– When I found out that he had joined the army to fight in the Donbas, I became very proud of him. We were just kids, actually, says the 26-year-old.
Greet yourself as heroes
Kyrychenko and the rest of the Azov battalion are hailed as heroes in Ukraine. Posters have been posted throughout Kiev commemorating, among other things, the killed Azov soldiers and the efforts made in Mariupol.
Many still live in Russian captivity, and in several places in Kiev, including outside the magnificent City Hall on Maidan Square, a huge banner was hung reading:
“Azovstal: free the defenders of Mariupol”.
After his death, Kyrychenko was awarded the “Order of Courage” medal, which is awarded to the person or persons who, in extraordinary circumstances, show heroism far beyond what can be expected.
Butsja: – It’s getting worse
Yakushenko himself, 26, did not know that Kyrychenko was in Mariupol or Azovstal until after he was killed.
He received the news of death through common knowledge.
– It was a shock. I really wish she was still with us. Then I could have told him how proud I was and how proud I am of him, says Jakushenko.
However, it is far from his fault, he points out.
– Danylo had a wife and a small daughter, says Jakushenko.
– Class of its own
When Ksenia Yakushenko arrived in the square in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, flowers were already hanging next to the poster in memory of Danylo Kyrychenko.
He doesn’t know who put them there, but the flowers had wilted and must have hung there for a while.
“Your house is under attack!”
With delicate and precise movements, the 26-year-old removes the withered flowers, and carefully wraps them in plastic paper that has been wrapped around the red roses she herself brought.
He takes a few steps back, looks directly into Danylo’s eyes and takes a deep breath.
– He was alone in a separate class, says Jakushenko.
