Ukrainian activist, soldier Vasyl Ratushnyi killed on front lines

Vasyl Ratushnyi, an activist and drone pilot in Ukraine's Armed Forces, died while fighting on the front lines on Feb. 27, according to his family.

Ratushnyi was the son of the writer Svitlana Povalyaeva and the brother of the prominent activist Roman Ratushnyi, who died in combat in 2022.

Ratushnyi, a member of Ukraine's Birds of Magyar drone unit, was killed in a direct attack by a first-person-view (FPV) drone during an overnight combat mission, Povalyaeva said in a Facebook post.

"My eldest son, my life," she wrote.

Previously, Ratushnyi participated in Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution, alongside his younger brother, renowned activist Roman Ratushnyi. Roman was killed while fighting near Izium in Kharkiv Oblast in June 2022.

Following EuroMaidan and Russia's subsequent invasion of Donbas, Vasyl, then 18, volunteered to fight on the front lines in eastern Ukraine.

Following Roman's death in 2022, Vasyl said he carried with him military gear that his brother left him in his will.  

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