Ivan Yu. Kuzminskyi (Dotsent)

Senior soldier Ivan Kuzminsky (call sign "Professor) was killed on May 17, 2023 while performing a combat mission near the village of Dibrova in the Luhansk region. The warrior's life was cut short by a sniper's bullet. He was 39 years old. Ivan was born in the city of Berdychiv, Zhytomyr region. He studied choral conducting at the Zhytomyr State Music College named after Viktor Kosenko. He received his higher education at the Kyiv Conservatory (now the National Music Academy of Ukraine). He defended his PhD dissertation in art history, taught and studied in doctoral studies. He researched ancient Ukrainian music and was the author of scientific articles on this topic. He worked as a director at the children's TV channel "Malyatko TV". He lived in Kyiv. With the start of the full-scale war, Ivan decided to defend Ukraine from the occupiers. He served in the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He courageously and worthily carried out combat missions. He believed in victory over the enemy and very much wanted to return home as soon as possible. "He was always smiling, joking a lot. He consulted on issues of music history. He wrote a perfect study of the music history of Ostroh during the times of the Ostroh princes... We just discussed new projects with him, and he was killed," wrote Mykola Bendyuk, head of the art cluster of the Ostroh Academy and artist-restorer of the Ostroh Reserve. "Ivan is now forever 39. Rest in peace, a stubborn fighter with an inimitable laugh," said the warrior's wife Khrystyna. Ivan was buried in his native Berdychiv. At home, his mother, wife, daughter and son were waiting for him. The children were 10 and 5 years old at the time of their father's death.