"She was a commander people trusted": defender Yaryna Nishtuk from Lviv killed at the front
Yaryna Nishtuk, a soldier from the city of Lviv, has been killed on the Kramatorsk front after more than two years of service. Her life was cut short by a Russian drone strike.
Source: Viktoriia Panchuk, Yaryna's friend; Oriiana Lyceum, where Yaryna studied
Details: Yaryna left school in 2019 and tried to join the country's defence forces immediately after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion. According to her friend, she was initially rejected because she was "barely five feet tall and weighed about 88 pounds".
However, this did not stop the young woman from Lviv, who began working out at the gym and taking courses, including in tactical medicine and drone piloting.
Over two years ago, Yaryna went to Ukraine's east as a volunteer and stayed there to serve. She held the position of commander of a strike drone platoon in the 1st Unmanned Aerial Systems Battalion.
"You found your place and devoted yourself to it completely. I visited you six months ago – there, in the east. I saw how people listened to you, respected you, how they came to you for decisions.
How that same five-foot-tall girl who was once rejected became a commander whom people trust. I looked at you and thought, 'You are so incredible'. And I am so proud of you," Viktoriia shared.
On 8 October, Yaryna was killed in an FPV drone strike on the Kramatorsk front.
"My Yarynka. My Hetera. 'Yavir', 'Nishtiak' and Madam Commander to her fellow soldiers [...]
I still don't know how to come to terms with this. How to write about you in a way that doesn't sound like a goodbye. Because you – you are all about life. About being constantly on the go, about laughter, about the mountains, about Ukraine, about the strength within you that no one could measure by your 88 pounds.
It feels like only yesterday we were planning to go for a walk after school, and today I was getting ready to see your mother and break the news of your death..." the soldier's friend wrote.
The date and time of Yaryna's funeral will be announced later. A fundraiser has been launched to provide support for her family and help with the funeral expenses.
Background: Valeriia "Demon" Stepanova, an FPV drone operator, was killed in a drone strike at the front.
Read also: "Anarchist, feminist, vegan": combat medic and activist Ivanna Kutsenko killed in action
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