scorecardresearch
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeWorldUkrainian artist adorns Kyiv high-rises with images of fallen soldiers

Ukrainian artist adorns Kyiv high-rises with images of fallen soldiers

Follow Us :
Text Size:

By Margaryta Chornokondratenko and Anna Voitenko
KYIV (Reuters) – Liudmyla Bordus lost her son Maksym to the war with Russia, but he is never far away – his likeness emblazoned in vivid colour across her apartment building in Kyiv.

“I can feel him every day, every time I pass him here,” she said, stroking the spray-painted image. 

“I greet him in the morning and in the evening, always.” 

The sweeping mural of the 23-year-old former boxer is one of a dozen around the Ukrainian capital created by artist Eugene Gladenko to commemorate troops killed fighting Russian forces.

Moscow’s February 2022 invasion galvanised Ukrainians, who have memorialised their fallen in myriad ways. Billboards tower over highways and plaques adorn village schools where soldiers studied.

Gladenko, 31, said he is motivated by love of country and a calling to “create comfort” for Ukrainians who have lost loved ones. Many of his creations are deeply personal, he added, ordered by relatives or friends. 

“Every story … is a story of a hero, an example for their entire district or neighbourhood,” said Gladenko, whose own friend was killed in the war.

Bordus acknowledged that the image of Maksym, who was killed in southeastern Ukraine last June when a tank shell struck his trench, is painful. 

But she added that it was a potent reminder of the sacrifice made by Ukrainian troops like her son.

“It feels as if an angel is looking at you from above.”

(Reporting by Margaryta Chornokondratenko and Anna Voitenko; Additional reporting by Thomas Peter; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

  • Tags

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular