Thousands of people, including the Ukrainian head of state, paid tribute on Friday in kyiv to “Da Vinci“a war hero killed by the Russians in the battle of Bakhmout, the hottest point on the eastern front of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin also made a surprise appearance on this occasion in Independence Square in the center of the capital.
Dmytro “Da Vinci“Kotsiubailo was a 27-year-old volunteer who led a battalion called the Da Vinci Wolves.
He took up arms in 2014 to fight Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
President Zelensky announced his death in a video address on Tuesday.
For his feats of arms, Dmytro “Da Vinci“Kotsiubailo was the youngest fighter to receive from President Zelensky, in December 2021, the Hero of Ukraine Medal, the country’s highest honor.
Present on the spot, the chief of staff of the armies, Valery Zaluzhny, knelt near the coffin.
“The road to our victory is very difficult. And the price of this victory is the lives of our warriors, the best Ukrainian citizens who defended the country with arms in hand“, he launched.
“You must be sure that we will not be satisfied only to avenge you. We will definitely achieve victory. Sleep in peace, my friend“, added the military leader.
People dressed in mourning, carrying flowers and waving Ukrainian flags, marched down the hill to the iconic Maidan Square. Many wept as they passed his open coffin.
