Roman Ratouchny, figure of the pro-European Maidan movement, was killed on June 9 in the Kharkiv region. A crowd paid tribute to him in Kyiv’s Independence Square on Saturday
Hundreds of people flocked to the Saint-Michel-au-Dôme-d’Or monastery in central Kyiv this Saturday to attend the funeral of a young Ukrainian activist killed in action in the east and a figure in the pro-European movement Maidan, noted Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Roman Ratouchny died on June 9 at the age of 24 near Izium in the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces are facing the Russian army that invaded the country on February 24.
That Saturday morning, four soldiers carried the coffin of the deceased, greeted by the crowd, in the presence of many soldiers. The coffin was placed at the entrance to the monastery for the funeral service.
Hundreds of people attended in silence, some carrying flowers, others a Ukrainian flag on their backs, an AFP journalist noted.
“Although I did not know him personally, I felt (his death) a loss because as my view of the world was formed, (Roman) became a person who influenced my view and the person I am now.” Alina Horhol, a student who attended the ceremony, told AFP.
“Roman was the kind of person who could have changed a lot of things in our society,” she added.
Wave of reactions on social networks
A rally was held in his memory on Independence Square (Maidan in Ukrainian), and the coffin was buried in Baikove Cemetery in southern Kyiv, where many Ukrainian figures are buried.
Maidan has been the scene of massive pro-European protests that began in late 2013 and culminated in February 2014 with the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Roman Ratouchny, who, like many other civilians, has fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian army since the beginning of the Russian offensive, was one of the first students to protest on the Maidan in late 2013.
The announcement earlier this week of the death of Roman Ratouchny, who had also become a famous anti-corruption activist, sparked a wave of reactions on social media, including that of English football legend Gary Linecker, who retweeted the information, writing: “tragic” .
death threat
“Roman Ratouchny, one of the student demonstrators who was beaten by the police on the first night of the Maidan revolution (…), I’ve interviewed him several times (…) a very lively, very intelligent guy,” tweeted journalist Oliver Carroll.
In addition to his involvement in the Maidan and anti-corruption in Ukraine, Ratouchny ran the NGO Protasiv Yar, named after a historical place in Kyiv defended by activists trying to protect this area from illegal constructions aimed at destroying a large forest lead in the neighborhood .
His commitment to this NGO had brought him death threats. He had contacted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Kyiv Prosecutor General, but no criminal investigation was launched.