News broke in the first week of March 2023, that a young man who was already a decorated hero had been killed in the battle in Bakhmut with Russian Federation forces. Dmytro Kotsybailo, known by his friends as Davinci, was the artist who sacrificed his life for years to defend his country.
Kotsybailo was the youngest soldier to be appointed as a battalion commander. He was the commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion. He was from Ivano-Frankivsk village of Zadnistrianske. As a young man he took part in the Revolution of Dignity then joined forces to fight in Donetsk as early as 2014. After he was wounded in 2014 in the Donetsk village of Pisky, instead of retiring he went back to the fight. Instead of pursuing his love of art, he fought for his country.
He was awarded the Order of the People’s Hero of Ukraine in 2017 and then awarded Hero of Ukraine and given the Order of the Golden Star in November 2021. After his death, he was awarded the Cross of Military Merit.
His funeral was announced widely for November 10, 2023 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sanna Marina, Finnish Prime Minister, paid their respects at St. Michael’s Golden Dome Monastery. Later, the community gathered in Maidan at the base of the Independence Monument to pay respects and leaders in attendance included Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Gen Oleksandr Pavliuk, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov.
