A well-known Ukrainian commander known as “Da Vinci” received tributes from the public after dedicating his entire adult life to battling Russia and its proxies. President Volodymyr Zelensky presided over the ceremonies.
The eastern city of Bakhmut, which has seen some of the fiercest combat of the war and is still hotly contested, saw the death of Dmytro Kotsiubailo, 27, this week.
Before to the invasion, he was recognised as a Hero of Ukraine for his involvement in suppressing pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He was the commander of a unit known as Da Vinci’s Wolves.
Zelensky, who bestowed that honour, was accompanied by Finland’s visiting Prime Minister Sanna Marin when he lay flowers on Kotsiubailo’s coffin at St Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv.
He said on Telegram: ‘It hurts to lose our heroes. Brave, courageous, strong. Loyal to themselves and to the state.
‘I handed over to Oksana Kotsiubailo, Da Vinci’s mother, the Cross of Military Merit, which her son was posthumously awarded. We will never forget. And we will always be grateful.’
Later, hundreds of people gathered in the nearby Independence Square, a symbol of Ukraine’s attempts to prise itself from Russia’s sphere of influence and move closer to the European Union.
Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, head of Ukraine’s armed forces, were among the dignitaries to pay their respects on the square.
Linked with the right-wing movement Right Sector, Kotsiubailo is one of several figures from nationalist groups, some of which took part in a 2014 uprising that toppled Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, whose reputations have grown in the past year.
Critics say the groups’ radicalism and history of violence have helped Russian media to portray them as ‘neo-Nazis’ who threaten Russian-speakers living in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has justified his invasion by saying it is the only way to rid Ukraine of ‘neo-Nazis’ backed by Western allies bent on destroying Russia.
Kyiv and Western leaders dismiss such claims, and describe Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two as a land grab that is destined to fail.
In Russia, pro-Kremlin commentators and Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group whose fighters have been leading the charge in Bakhmut, celebrated Kotsiubailo’s death.