Oleksii Bezpaltsev, a 34-year-old poet and prose writer from Kharkiv, was killed in action while performing a combat mission in Kharkiv Oblast, PEN Ukraine reported on Dec. 25.
Known for his modernist style, Bezpaltsev published two collections of short stories and participated in literary slams.
A friend remembered him as “cheerful and energetic,” someone who loved “films, music, poetry, and cycling,” adding that he was “the King of Kharkiv underground.”
Before serving in Kharkiv, Bezpaltsev fought on the Pokrovsk front.
According to a March 2024 report from PEN International, at least 102 Ukrainian cultural figures, including writers, artists, translators and historians, have been killed since the beginning of the invasion.
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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