Ukraine pays tribute to a famous dancer killed in combat against Russia

Tribute to Oleksandr ShapovaReutersA prominent Ukrainian ballet dancer who died this week fighting on the front lines of his country’s war against Russian invaders was honored with a memorial service at the Ukrainian National Opera on Saturday. The National Opera described Oleksandr Shapoval as a “brave romantic” and a brave warrior who died under Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine on September 12. Soldiers, honor guards and members of kyiv’s artistic community packed the lobby of the opera house and laid flowers on his coffin before it was wrapped in a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag. Shapoval, 47, retired from a long career as a dancer at the National Opera last year and began teaching at kyiv before joining the territorial guard to defend the capital after the Russian invasion on February 24. He later volunteered to join the army and fought in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war. “Losing a friend is always very hard. For me he was a comrade in arms. He was a very decent person. My soul is empty. For me, he will always be alive,” said Roman Turshyiev, ​​who fought alongside Shapoval in the same unit. .