Ukrainian service members hold a national flag over a coffin with the body of their brother-in-arms Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during a funeral ceremony at a cemetery in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Tearful mourners bid farewell on Tuesday to a celebrated Ukrainian opera conductor who was killed fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, who joined the military after Russia's February 2022 invasion, died last week near the city of Kramatorsk.
Starovytskyi, 40, had staged numerous operas in Kyiv, including Gaetano Donizetti's Rita, and was invited to the Berlin Opera Academy in 2021 as an assistant conductor.
A woman reacts during a funeral ceremony for Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, a Ukrainian conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
"It's a shame that many of his plans, projects and ideas will remain only ideas," said colleague Svitlana Melnychenko.
Friends, relatives and fellow service members laid flowers in Starovytskyi's open coffin during a service outside the capital Kyiv, where they reflected on what they described as his positive nature.
"He was always very warm towards people - a holy person," said university friend Ievhen Hryma, 37.
Ukrainian service members carry a coffin with the body of their brother-in-arms Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during a funeral ceremony in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Starovytskyi is among a growing number of artists, athletes and other public figures who have died fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
A Ukrainian service member passes a national flag to Liudmyla, the mother of his brother-in-arms Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during a funeral ceremony at a cemetery in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoPeople react during a funeral ceremony for Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, Ukrainian conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a cemetery in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoPeople kneel during a funeral ceremony for Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, a Ukrainian conductor, musician and serviceman, who was recently killed in a fight against Russian troops in Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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