Credit Photos: Nazar Domashyn – Yuriy Domashyn as mayor, with his family, and at the front
This is a story about the current events my people are facing, the consequences, and what we can all do about it.
February 24, 2022 at 5 p.m. Millions of Ukrainians woke up to explosions of Russian rockets that hit dozens of cities across the country, including the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. After the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, our citizens rushed to help the Motherland. This help took completely different forms – from registering people in long lines to military commissariats to children selling homemade lemonade and cookies on the streets to raise money for the needs of the army. Our country had never seen such unity after February 24, and it changed each of us forever.
The hero of this story is my father, who became a volunteer and went to defend his country from the Russian invasion for the second time (the first time he went to the front in 2015 after Russia occupied the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions). ). However, this story is not only about my father. With this story I want to start a very important mission that I called “Save and Remember”. I will explain its purpose later.
My dad’s name is Yuriy Domashyn and he had everything necessary for a calm and happy life – a beloved and loving wife, three children, the youngest of whom is only 10 years old, and two small grandchildren. In addition, he was the mayor of our native city of Dovbysh and devoted the last 20 years of his life to the implementation of reforms, making his city one of the most prosperous in its region. That is why he went to the front to protect his family and country from the Russian invasion. He could not stand aside when the future of Ukraine was decided. I always compared my dad to Atlantean – he was one of those people who carried the world on his shoulders. Dad possessed many qualities of a decent person and radiated a bright and positive energy that changed for the better everything he came in contact with. He had enough energy for both social life and his family, and I was always glad that I have a complete family, where mutual understanding reigns and everyone has the same mood.
Since childhood, my father instilled in me a sense of conscious love for the fact that I am a citizen of my country and that Ukrainians have their own culture, language, traditions, but a very difficult history that continues to be written today. . It was because of my father’s guidance that I always knew who I was and never doubted my identity. I realized that in the modern world, a father can rarely be an example for his son, because the modern generation draws knowledge about itself and the world mostly from other sources. Instead, Dad was my superhero, the one I wanted to be like, with whom I could discuss anything, from the political situation in the country to veganism. When making important decisions, I always think of my father and ask myself: “What would dad do in this situation?”
At the end of the 5th month of the war, my father was on the southern front in the Kherson region, at that time he was already appointed deputy commander of the troops – for the courage shown during the actions and leadership qualities. He could just sit in the headquarters near the front line, but dad was constantly with his comrades in the trenches. Over the past two weeks, successfully storming the enemy, they liberated 3 settlements and entrenched themselves in enemy positions. Enemy troops began to transfer reserves in this direction and hit the positions of our military with all types of heavy artillery and aviation.
The last time we talked, I asked, “How are you there ?” and all he said was, “Noisy, noisy…”
On August 3, 2022, at approximately 4:00 p.m., I received a call from the military commissariat and was informed that a tragic event had occurred and that my father had died as a result of artillery fire. “Tell your mother, Nazar…”
There are countless such tragic stories, but there are many people whom we can help to return home to their relatives and loved ones.
Nazar Domashyn
If you would like to support Nazar Domashyn’s Save and Remember project:
