Denys H. Antipov (Buk)

Denys Antipov (callsign "Buk") was born on June 30, 1989 in Ivano-Frankivsk. He was baptized by the priest Roman Kyiak. In 1994 Denys and his family moved from Ivano-Frankivsk to Kyiv.

In 1996-2002 he studied at the secondary school №11 in Kyiv. From 2002 to 2006 he studied at the gymnasium №136 in Kyiv, where he later graduated with a gold medal. Early on in school, Denys took an active part in the socio-political life of Ukraine, public actions and peaceful protests in defense of the Ukrainian language, national remembrance and identity.

Denys had  brilliant talent  for  foreign languages, so in 2006 he entered Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and began studying at the Department of Languages ​​and Literatures of the Far East and Southeast Asia Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology. He travelled to South  Korea twice for language and educational internship - in 2008 at Seoul National University, and in 2011 at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. In 2010 Denys graduated from the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and received the rank of reserve officer.

In 2011-2012, Denys worked in the Samsung service department. As a translator, he participated in various government events with the representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Republic of Korea and Korean companies. In particular, Denys participated at  the launching of high-speed Hyundai trains of the "Intercity+" class, working as a translator for the Korean engineers. 

In 2012 Denys received his diploma in "Language and Literature and Translation (Korean, English)" and earned Master's Degree in philology, teacher-researcher of Korean and English languages ​​and foreign literature, translator of Korean and English. He worked on his PhD thesis on "Linguo-pragmatic features of the professional language of electronics on the material of the Korean language." Taras Kyiak was his science supervisor. Denys worked as an assistant at the Department of Languages ​​and Literatures of the Far East and Southeast Asia of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology.

In 2012 Denys took an active part in the Language Maidan - peaceful protests against russification and giving Russian the status of a regional language. In 2013-2014, from the first days of the protests, Dernys was an active participant of the Revolution of Dignity (Euromaidan). He was one of few, who in February 2014 hit a Molotov cocktail at the armoured pro-Russian police personnel carrier on the Independence Square. Also in February 2014, Denys and his friends  removed a monument dedicated to communist Soviet criminal, Dmytriy Manuilsky, in the central part of Kyiv.

Denys always had a sincere smile, was a charming, educated and witty interlocutor. Denys was highly clever, had magical skills to attract and gather bright people around him.  Everyone who knew Denys respected him for his patriotism, dedication, maturity and the ability to take on responsibility. He had many hobbies and always tried to discover something new. He loved the sky and everything related to aviation. He loved music and played various instruments. He loved the history of Ukraine, in particular the struggle for Ukrainian Independence in the XX century, and was using every   opportunity  to share the truth about the struggles that the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and other Ukrainian military formations had endured throughout history. Not in words, but in deeds - Denys  visited and supported veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and "Galicia" Division. 

Denys Antipov was the founder of many pro-Ukrainian pages on  social media, where he engaged in educational activities and designed creative memes about history, politics and world news. In particular, Denys Antipov was the founder and administrator of the page "Glory to the OUN-UPA and all fighters for the Freedom of Ukraine!", "Cossack quotation book", "Galician greaves", "Restaurant car “Witnesses of the Fifth Universal". The total number of followers on  these pages was way over  60 thousand people. His natural gift to engage and lead interesting people was contagious. 

With the start of Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, Denys voluntarily went to the military commissariat office to join the Armed Forces, despite the fact that he had a booking protection not to go to the army, as a postgraduate in the university. At that time there was no need for his skills  as a military  translator, so instead, Denys became interested in air reconnaissance. In February 2015, he voluntarily joined the 5th Battalion Tactical Group of the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade. His cousin's grandfathers ​​fought in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, their callsigns were "Oak" and "Leaf". Continuing the family tradition, Denys chose his callsign "Buk" (in Ukrainian it means “a beech tree”). From June 2015 till April 2016 Denys was fighting at the frontline, performing combat missions in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He carried out aerial reconnaissance of enemy actions and positions near the Donetsk airport, on the Svitlodarsk arch, near Popasna, in the Avdiivka industrial zone and other places. Denys later after this mission became the commander of the air reconnaissance platoon of his battalion.

On 08.08.2015 near the city of Mykolayivka (Donetsk region), Denys took a photo, that became one of the symbols of Ukraine's struggle for independence against the Russian occupiers. On this photo, Denys and three combatants from his air reconnaissance platoon, of 5th Battalion Tactical Group of the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade, recreated  a very famous - photo from World War II, of  the US Marines raising American flag over the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima in February 1945. In 2021, Denys managed to visit the Memorial of the US Marine Corps and the grave of Ukrainian, Michael Strank, at the Arlington National Cemetery - one of those servicemen who raised the flag in Iwo Jima.

Before the war with Russia started, Denys became interested in printing and bought his first 3D printer. Later in 2015, he became the initiator of the volunteer project "People's Moveable Prosthesis", which aimed to create an affordable mechanical  hand project for the Ukrainian defenders and people with special needs.

In December 2015, Denys Antipov took part in the project "Music of Warriors", in which he played the piano composition "Warriors of Light" (originally by the band Lyapis Trubetskoy), which became a symbol during the Revolution of Dignity.

In April 2016, Denys Antipov was demobilized. On August 24, 2016, his long-held dream came true and Denys took part in a parade on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.

Since 2016, Denys began to develop his own veterans' business. Initially, he founded the shop "Anticius" - a club for true  connoisseurs of history and antiques, where he created paintings from the original historical maps, drawings, pages of historic books and documents. 

In 2018 Denys launched his own  store UA GIFTS to produce different types of handmade souvenirs. The store had its own machines for cutting and engraving various surfaces, 3D printers, printers for polygraphy, souvenirs and much more. He created a marketplace, so that other veterans could also sell their products on his website. During COVID pandemic, Denys took initiative and launched the production of protective shields for people , which as a result saved many lives.

In 2018, Denys studied at the Kyiv School of Economics under the Entrepreneurship Program for Anti-terrorist Operation and Joint Forces Operations veterans. He later joined KSE events as a lecturer to share his veteran experience.

In 2020, to increase  the capacity of the UA GIFTS workshop, Denys Antipov became a participant in the program of the International Organization for Migration to support veterans' business and the program of "House of Europe" - Creative Business Academy for creative entrepreneurs. 

In June 2021, Denys posted on TikTok a humorous video for the song "Our Father Bandera", which became viral in just a couple of days and later became a famous trend among Ukrainian youth. The  original video reached over 1 million views.

In 2021 Denys completed his internship in the United States under the UBL PIE program: Ukrainian Business Leaders Promoting Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which is implemented by the American Councils. During the first stage, Denys virtually had an internship in collaboration with the District of Columbia Department of Small and Local Business Development. In the same year, with the support of the US government, Denys took part in an educational trip to the US (D.C., Austin, San Diego), where he had the opportunity to share experiences with veteran entrepreneurs and lecturers of the Korean Language Department at the University of Texas in Austin.

With the beginning of the Russian invasion and full scale war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Denys without any hesitation joined the ranks of the 95th Air Assault Brigade and went fighting on the front lines. He participated in battles in the Donetsk region (in particular near the city of Horlivka) and in the Kharkiv region. On March 9, he received a concussion and numerous injuries during an artillery shelling near the town of Izium in the Kharkiv region. Denys himself referred to that day as his second birthday.

Even during his rehabilitation and his time off from the battlefield, Denys was aware of the lack of truthful information around the world about what is happening in Ukraine. While recovering in the hospital he managed to launch a website in foreign languages to show the world facts about the cruelty Russia was conducting in Ukraine: https://translatedfromrussian.info 

After treatment at the hospital, Denys immediately returned to the front line in early May. 

On May 11, 2022 at about 10:00 a.m. operation officer of the 1st Airborne Assault Battalion of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, Lieutenant Denys Antipov, died heroically defending the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine during a defensive battle between brigade units and the enemy near the Dovhenke village (Kharkiv region. As a result of enemy’s shelling by tanks and artillery, Denys  received injuries incompatible with life.