Kyiv Mourns 'Bright And Talented' Actor Yuriy Felipenko Killed On Front

NDTV

20-06-2025

Hundreds gathered in Kyiv on Thursday for the funeral of Ukrainian soldier and former actor Yuriy Felipenko, who was killed on the front line aged 32.
Before joining the Ukrainian army in April 2024, Felipenko starred in several stage productions and TV shows, playing a lead role in Ukrainian crime serial The Colour of Passion.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, multiple Ukrainian actors, artists and writers have been killed -- both in combat and during Russian bombardment of towns and cities.
Felipenko's death last week, just over a year after he enlisted, was the latest blow to Ukraine's artistic community and prompted an outpouring of grief among his colleagues.
"Such a bright and talented person has been taken away," actress Anna Koshmal wrote on Instagram.
Ukrainian TV host Masha Yefrosinina described his death as "horrific and painful".
"It was Yuriy who gave me the feeling that a new era of modern young Ukrainian actors was dawning," she wrote.
At a farewell ceremony for the actor at the Podil Theatre, where he regularly performed, his wife Kateryna sobbed as she paid tribute to her husband's "wonderful life".
"I don't blame anyone for this death, except Russia. I want to ask everyone here to kill everything Russian inside themselves," she said, according to a video published by Radio Liberty.
Felipenko's coffin was later carried to a cathedral in central Kyiv, where tearful mourners held candles and paid their final respects.
His army unit, a strike drone battalion named "Achilles", said he "won the hearts of audiences" in a tribute on social media.
"Yuriy's brothers-in-arms could always count on him during the most difficult assaults. We remember and we will avenge you," it said.
Russia's three-year offensive has resulted in tens of thousands of military deaths on both sides.
Peace talks on ending the conflict have stalled in recent weeks, with Moscow's forces advancing on the front line.
Russia says it is open to a peace settlement but Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging talks to prolong the fighting.