KYIV, Ukraine — Dmytro Kotsiubailo was a thin teenager when he took to the barricades in Kyiv’s Independence Sq. 9 years in the past, becoming a member of 1000’s of Ukrainians demanding to be handled with dignity and free of the yoke of Russia.

On Friday, he was returned to that very same sq. in an open coffin, as 1000’s of Ukrainians gathered to pay tribute to the boy who grew to become a embellished soldier and an emblem of Ukrainian resistance.

Mr. Kotsiubailo was higher recognized by his call-sign, Da Vinci, given to him as a result of he as soon as dreamed of being an artist. However he by no means acquired the prospect: Quickly after collaborating within the protests referred to as the Maidan Revolution, he joined Ukraine’s Military to struggle a Russian-backed revolt in japanese Ukraine. He was solely 18-years-old.

Through the years “Da Vinci” grew to become certainly one of Ukraine’s best-known fighters and a battalion commander. He was killed close to Bakhmut on March 7, mortally wounded in a Russian assault. He was 27 years previous.

Whereas Mr. Kotsiubailo was one among the many 1000’s of Ukrainian troopers killed within the warfare with Russia, his story has struck a deep chord in a war-weary nation that stands united behind its troopers preventing on the entrance traces.

“It hurts to lose our heroes,” President Volodymyr Zelensky stated as he joined the nation in mourning Mr. Kotsiubailo, whose memorial was broadcast dwell on nationwide tv. In talking in regards to the soldier’s demise earlier this week, Mr. Zelensky famous how “Da Vinci” had been “defending our independence and the dignity of our folks since 2014.”

By the point Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Mr. Kotsiubailo was already an skilled veteran, the youngest battalion commander within the Ukrainian army. In 2021 he grew to become one of many youngest ever volunteer troopers to be named a “Hero of Ukraine” for valor on the battlefield.

In an interview with the Ukrainian publication Censor.internet earlier than his demise, Mr. Kotsiubailo described preventing to cease the Russian advance in southern Ukraine, being greeted with flowers as he rolled into newly liberated villages in Ukraine’s northeast and the hazard posed by Russian forces regardless of their setbacks on the battlefield.

“Russians can’t be underestimated,” he stated. “Sure, they’re damaged, however they nonetheless have assets — human, gear, and weapons.”

Mr. Zelensky, Ukraine’s protection minister and the highest commander of the armed forces joined the crowds on the soldier’s funeral at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, the majestic church in central Kyiv the place funerals for troopers have grow to be a grim day by day ritual. The gang swelled because the coffin was taken to Independence Sq., recognized merely as Maidan.

One after the other, folks filed previous. Many left flowers and a few paused to say a number of phrases. “Thanks for all the pieces,” a weeping lady cried. A soldier vowed vengeance, telling President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia “to place a bullet in your head.”

The gang chanted “Glory to Ukraine,” adopted by silence, then extra chants of “Loss of life to the enemy, demise, demise, demise” and “Glory to the hero of Ukraine.”

In an interview with Radio Liberty earlier than his demise, Mr. Kotsiubailo defined why he selected to struggle for his nation.

“So long as there may be hazard,” he stated. “I take into account it my civic responsibility to guard it with a weapon in hand.”