The words of Ukraine's fallen soldiers inspire the nation to keep fighting

Editor's note: The following is the latest in a series of reports from the Kyiv Independent on the commemoration of Ukraine's fallen soldiers.

On October 1, the country's National Defenders Day, Ukrainians gathered at war memorials across the country to honor the soldiers killed defending their country from Russian invasion.

At 9 a.m., a few hundred people stood in silence in Kiev's Independence Square while cars on the busy street stopped for a few minutes to remember the fallen.

Many held portraits of defenders – their friends, relatives and loved ones killed or captured by Russia – a testament to a fight paid for with the blood of its citizens who chose to take up arms to defend their country.

Among the photos and flags in Independence Square, each representing a human life, people also held up handwritten signs.

“All beautiful ones remain optimistic,” one sign said, quoting prominent Ukrainian activist and fighter Pavlo Petrychenko, who was killed on the front lines earlier this year. He represented a new generation that grew up in an independent Ukraine but spent most of their adult lives fighting as activists and soldiers for their country's survival and a better future.

In the third year of the Russian-led existential war, Ukrainians are quoting many of them and drawing inspiration from the words they left behind. The Kyiv Independent has compiled some of the most shared quotes that will become part of the country's legacy.

Iryna Tsybukh, 25

Iryna Tsybukh, a civilian journalist and educator, volunteered as a military medic during the large-scale Russian invasion. She shared her patriotic views on social media with tens of thousands of followers, becoming a leading voice in remembering fallen soldiers and a “moral compass” for many Ukrainians.

After Tsybukh was killed during a front-line evacuation in May, her brother posted her posthumous letter, which received over 100,000 likes on Instagram and inspired many people:

“To have freedom, you need to also hold other kinds of values. You need to understand yourself, to clearly know who you are for yourself, what your personal happiness is, and how you can reach it. Once you have the answers to this question, the most important thing is to keep going.”

Nazarii Hryntsevych, 21

Nazarii Hryntsevych, one of Mariupol's youngest defenders who survived the Russian siege of the city's Azov Valley steelworks and Russian captivity, continued to fight in the Azov Regiment after returning to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange.

Hryntsevych's most famous quote comes from his comrade's Instagram story, in which he speaks in an Azov Valley shelter – fully equipped for a fight, a fresh wound on his face:

“Whatever you got going, love your mom, eat your porridge, and love Ukraine.”

Roman Ratushny, 24

At 16, Roman Ratushny was among a large group of Ukrainian students who were violently attacked and beaten by Ukrainian riot police in 2013 during their peaceful protest against the pro-Kremlin government of President Viktor Yanukovych.

The resulting public outrage sparked the Euromaidan Revolution. Ratushny, one of the prominent young activists who appeared there, fought against illegal construction in a Kiev park despite threats from Ukrainian oligarchs before volunteering to fight for Ukraine in 2022.

After he was killed in battle that same year, people were enthralled by his strong belief that peace in Ukraine was impossible as long as Ukrainians tolerated any kind of Russian influence:

“Burn the whole Russian subculture within yourselves. Burn all childhood memories related to the Russian-Soviet. Burn your relationships with relatives or friends on the other side, with everyone who is a carrier of the Russian subculture. Otherwise, it will burn you out.”

Andrii Pilshchykov, 30

Andrii Pilshchykov, a top new-generation Ukrainian pilot known as “Juice,” was instrumental in Ukraine’s efforts to get its first F-16 fighter jets from Western allies in August.

Having previously trained with American pilots, he used his high profile for numerous interviews with Western media and personal contacts in the US Air Force to convince Western partners to send the fighter jets to Ukraine in a media campaign that lasted more than two years.

After many successful combat missions, Pilshchykov was killed in a mid-air collision between two Ukrainian jets in 2023. On September 30, the eve of Defenders' Day, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Like many activists, he urged Ukrainians in his online posts to prepare for the tough fight:

“I am reminding you that we have not won yet. There are still many battles ahead. This is not the time to relax. Learn, train, get equipped, act. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

Maksym Kryvtsov, 33

Maksym Kryvtsov was a poet and photographer whose sensitive work is linked to Russia's war against Ukraine, which he fought in the Ukrainian army for seven years.

Kryvtsov, a front-line machine gunner, had a unique connection with his readers that continued online. A day before he was killed in a Russian artillery attack on his position, he published verses from his first and only book, “Poems From The Loophole,” while his Facebook readers posted numbers of the specific lines and pages they wanted to see. “Ninety percent of the poems here are about death,” he wrote then, before his own name became synonymous with the new generation of Ukrainian artists killed by Russia.

Now Ukrainians are quoting a line from his poem about the many deaths caused by Russia's war in Ukraine:

“When people ask me what war is, I will answer without hesitation: names.”

Dmytro Kotsiubailo, 27

Dmytro Kotsiubailo was the first volunteer fighter outside the Ukrainian army to receive the title of “Hero of Ukraine” during his lifetime. One of the youngest commanders in Ukrainian history, he served as the leader of his Da Vinci Wolves battalion for the entire ten years of his adult life.

For someone called “legendary,” Kotsiubailo behaved modestly and valued his troops. He was fatally wounded by Russian artillery in 2023 while checking that all members of his unit were taking shelter during the attack. In his last interview with Ukrainian media, Kotsiubailo's commitment and belief in his comrades is expressed in the last sentence:

“Weapons are good, but everything depends on people. Our people are the best. They will master anything, they will do anything. That's why we will win.”

Pavlo Petrychenko, 31

A prominent activist at the forefront of Ukrainian civil society, Pavlo Petrychenko participated in EuroMaidan, fighting to prosecute corrupt officials and demanding justice for fellow activists like his friend Kateryna Handziuk, who was killed in a politically motivated attack in 2018.

During the first months of the full-scale Russian invasion, Petrychenko helped establish one of the largest volunteer organizations currently supporting the Ukrainian army, the Serhii Prytula Charity Foundation. When he joined the army as a drone pilot, Petrychenko repeatedly spoke out against injustice in his trenchant interviews and tweets.

He was killed just days before his latest online petition prompted President Zelensky to sign a decree restricting online gambling among soldiers on April 20 – a testament to his determination by signing:

“We just gotta keep pressing and pressing, and they ought to fall. Because in this war, we stand for the truth. And whoever stands for the truth must win. It has always been so through history. And if we endure this moment, then we must win.”

Kostiantyn Yuzviuk, 23

Throughout his life, animal rights activist and volunteer Kostiantyn Yuzviuk seemed to know exactly where he stood with his views and lived up to them by advocating veganism, fighting the violent treatment of animals, rescuing pets from the front lines, and volunteering Army committed to fighting in Ukraine.

His views made a difference beyond his life after his unique personal funeral, which he designed himself. Yuzviuk's story touched many Ukrainians and made them an inspiration to others – exactly what he once advised:

“Look for motivation within yourself, or become one for somebody else.”

Remembering Ukraine's fallen soldiers: One wanted to be cremated so future fighters wouldn't “dig trenches in our bones”

Editor's note: The following is the first in a series of reports from the Kyiv Independent on the commemoration of Ukraine's fallen soldiers. “I am ready for cremation,” Kostiantyn “Kostia” Yuzviuk wrote in a list of funeral requests on his newly created Telegram channel for friends in November 2022