In Kyiv, they said goodbye to Dmitry Kotsyubaylo, known by the call sign "Da Vinci", the Hero of Ukraine, who died in the battles for Bakhmut. Thousands of people came to say goodbye to him. The farewell and funeral were attended by the country's top leadership: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny and intelligence chief Kirill Budanov.
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin arrived at the farewell ceremony with Zelensky. Zelensky posted a video of farewell. “It hurts to lose our heroes. Brave, courageous, strong. Together with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, we said goodbye to Dmitry Kotsyubail… We will never forget. And we will always be grateful. Eternal memory,” he wrote.
First, a memorial service was held in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral. After the farewell ceremony took place on the Maidan. In this regard, Khreschatyk was blocked in the area of Independence Square, writes the Politika strany Telegram channel. About 300 people came to the temple for worship, Ukrinform reports .
Kotsyubaylo is one of the leaders of the Right Sector, a native of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. In 2014, he went to fight at the age of 18 as part of the Right Sector DUK. In 2020, he became a member of the Right Sector Wire. On December 1, 2021, Zelensky awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kotsyubailo has commanded the Da Vinci Wolves unit.