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Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi dies following severe injuries on front lines

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Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi dies following severe injuries on front lines
Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi died on Dec. 7, 2023. (Theater on Podil/Facebook) 

The Kyiv-based Theater on Podil announced in a Facebook statement that Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi died on Dec. 7. Kukharskyi was 42 years old.

He joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

In September, Ukrainian film director Oles Sanin wrote that Kukharskyi had been seriously injured at the front, and that he would require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Kukharskyi played a major role in the 2022 film Maksym Osa, which was based on the Ukrainian comic book about the Cossack Maksym Osa. He also appeared in numerous other television and film roles, including Vataha and Toloka.

Tributes honored Kukharskyi amidst the news of his passing; his wife Nataliya Gordiy-Kukharska remembered him as a “real warrior, courageous Cossack, a talented actor, the kind of dad you can only dream of." Oles Sanin honored him as well, comparing his bravery to that of a Knight.

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Sonya Bandouil

North American news editor

Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC. Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.

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