Nearly 1,000 people honor a young Ukrainian journalist and volunteer combat medic killed in action

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Nearly 1,000 people attended a ceremony Sunday honoring the memory of Ukrainian journalist Iryna Tsybukh, who was killed in action while serving as a volunteer combat medic a few days before her 26th birthday.

Tsybukh was killed while on rotation in the Kharkiv area, where Russia started its offensive nearly a month ago.

She had left a note describing how she wished the ceremony to be held, asking people to sing Ukrainian songs and attend in vyshyvankas — traditional embroidered shirts — instead of black clothes.

“I want everyone to sing at the farewell, to learn at least 10 meaningful songs and sing them in unison, to extinguish sorrow with native songs,” she wrote. And instead of flowers, she said, she asked people to make donations to the Hospitallers Volunteer Medical Batallion, in which she served.

A large crowd gathered in the courtyard of Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, where the memorial service was held. People later joined a column that moved to central Independence Square, a ritual that has become common during funerals of servicemen killed in action.