Prominent Kyiv activist Roman Ratushnyi's older brother killed at front

Vasyl Ratushnyi, the elder brother of Ukrainian activist Roman Ratushnyi, who died in June 2022, was killed in a Russian drone strike on the front lines overnight, his mother Svitlana Povalyaeva said on Facebook.

Vasyl was killed in a combat mission by a direct hit from a Russian FPV drone.

He served as a drone operator in the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, known as "Magyar's Birds."

Vasyl's brother, Roman Ratushnyi, was killed on June 9, 2022, in a battle near Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast. He was 24 years old and fought as part of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar." Before the full-scale war, Roman was an activist and leader of the public organization "Save Protasiv Yar."

In honor of Roman Ratushnyi, a street in Kyiv was renamed (formerly Volgogradska Street).

The Kyiv City Council also decided to create a landscape reserve in Protasiv Yar, a cause Roman Ratushnyi fought for during his lifetime.

In July 2024, part of Ratushnyi's will was fulfilled when the ancient Kobzar mulberry tree, which needed treatment, was preserved.