Kyiv holds farewell for 28-year-old Ukrainian photographer, soldier Huzenko
Farewell for 28-year-old Ukrainian photographer, soldier Kostiantyn Huzenko in Kyiv, Nov. 7. (Ray Baseley / the Kyiv Independent)
A farewell ceremony was held in Kyiv on Nov. 7 for Kostiantyn Huzenko, a photographer-turned-soldier, killed in a Russian strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Nov. 1.
Huzenko, 28, was a Kyiv photographer who documented the war and served in the 35th Marine Brigade. He joined the army as a photographer and press officer in April 2024, just over two years after the full-scale invasion began.
Before joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Huzenko also worked as a media producer and podcaster. As part of the Ukrainer team, which he joined as a volunteer in 2020, he helped document stories from territories liberated from Russian occupation after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"In every dangerous corner of our motherland, Kostia was never afraid to go anywhere," Bogdan Logvynenko, a soldier and a founder of Ukrainer, wrote on Facebook.
A procession moved from St. Michael's Cathedral through the heart of Ukraine's capital to Independence Square, which was grey and cold, yet filled with people. Among the crowd stood many young people holding flowers. Later, these flowers would cover Huzenko's coffin.
"Kostia wished everyone to come in vyshyvankas (embroidered shirts) and bring only real flowers," Ukrainer wrote before the funeral.
His friends gave farewell speeches, remembering him as a bright, kind, talented, and gentle person, "someone you could talk to about anything."
The ceremony was accompanied by music from Huzenko's playlist, which he had created in case of his death. Among those who came to say goodbye was Marian Pyrih, a musician and soldier from Huzenko's favorite band "Pyrih i Batih," who performed several songs.
"He did not see the world as black and white — he saw all its colors, all the interesting things it held," Larisa Kalik, a photographer and friend of Huzenko, told the Kyiv Independent.
Two days after Huzenko's death, the 30th Marine Corps, which includes the 35th Marine Brigade, confirmed that its service members had been targeted in the Russian attack in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The corps did not specify which brigade was affected.
Friends and colleagues of Huzenko, speaking with the Kyiv Independent, suggested that the photographer had been killed in this attack, which reportedly struck an award ceremony where troops had gathered.
The State Bureau of Investigation launched on Nov. 3 an inquiry into possible negligence in military service during martial law, which may have led to the deaths of Ukrainian service members in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
At the service, his friends focused on the humanity in his work.
"Even though he had recently been at the front, all these military photos showed so much humanity and warmth — such care for others, for loved ones," Kalik said. "We have lost an extraordinary person. He left us too soon."
