Ukrainians pay tribute to fallen soldier and poet Maksym Kryvtsov (PHOTOS)
Farewell ceremony for fallen Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym "Dali" Kryvtsov on Jan. 11, 2024, in Kyiv. The ceremony was held in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and went down to Independence Square. Many people came to honor Kryvtsov. (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)
Despite the freezing temperature hundreds of Ukrainians gathered in central Kyiv on Jan. 11 to pay tribute to fallen Ukrainian serviceman and poet Maksym Kryvtsov.
Going by the callsign "Dali," Kryvtsov was killed in combat at the age of 33, defending Ukraine against Russia's unprovoked aggression. He was a prominent poet and volunteer, whose death shook the nation.
Kryvtsov took part in the EuroMaidan Revolution, a pivotal uprising in 2013-2014 that led to the ousting of pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych. Soon after, following Russia's invasion of Donbas in 2014, he joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a volunteer. Afterward, he worked in the Veteran HUB nonprofit, however, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he returned to service.
Kryvtsov just recently published a book "Poems from the Gunhole." In one of his latest Facebook posts, he wrote: "I dream to one day gift this book to (Commander-in-Chief Valerii) Zaluzhnyi."
Relatives, friends, and others mourn next to the coffin of a fallen Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym Kryvtsov at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, on Jan. 11, 2024. Several hundred Ukrainians attended the ceremony in Kyiv, despite the freezing weather, to pay tribute to Kryvtsov, callsign "Dali."(Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
L: Ukrainian medic Yuliia Paievska, callsign “Taira,” stands at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, on Jan. 11, 2024. Taira was captured by the Russian army in Mariupol in March 2022. In June 2022 she was released from Russian captivity. She came to the farewell ceremony of the killed Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent) R: Ukrainian Militaries stand with state awards of the killed on the frontline Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov near his coffin at the Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, on January 11, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monastery was crowded by hundreds of Ukrainians who came to commemorate Maksym Kryvtsov. He was killed on January 7 at the age of 33. He joined the army as a volunteer in 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and notably served as a machine gunner. (Olena Zashko / The Kyiv Independent)Relatives, friends, and others mourn next to the coffin of a fallen Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym Kryvtsov at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin of fallen Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, on Jan. 11, 2024.(Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)A Ukrainian soldier carries a portrait of fallen Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov during his farewell ceremony in central Kyiv, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)Hundreds of Ukrainians follow the coffin of the killed Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov in central Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. The farewell ceremony was held in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and went down to Independence Square. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)A woman cries while reading the book “Poems from the Gunhole” by killed Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov during his farewell ceremony in central Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)People comfort each other at the farewell ceremony of killed Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov in central Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
L: Relatives cuddle Maksym Kryvtsov’s mother near his coffin on the Independence Square in Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent) R: Yuliia Kirillova, a veteran of the Russian war against Ukraine, holds a photo of the killed Ukrainian poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov near his coffin on Independence Square in Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)Farewell ceremony for fallen Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym "Dali" Kryvtsov on Jan. 11, 2024, in Kyiv. (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)A grieving mother delicately arranges the hair of her deceased son, Maksym Kryvtsov, as he rests in his coffin on Independence Square in Kyiv on Jan. 11, 2024. Relatives grasp her hand, offering solace. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)
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