A meeting was held at the War Museum with soldier Ihor Yarmolinskyi, call sign “Sych,” operator of anti-tank missile systems of the 101st Brigade for the Protection of the General Staff named after Colonel-General Henadii Vorobiov, and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The event was moderated by War Museum researcher Valeriia Tsubenko.
In civilian life, Ihor Yarmolinskyi was an architect, who over 15 years designed and restored dozens of buildings. He remembers the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the smallest detail: only a few hours passed from the first reports of the enemy attack to his decision to go to the Solomianskyi military commissariat. He defended Kyiv region, and from December 2022 to May 2025 repeatedly took part in combat in the Donetsk direction. Altogether, the soldier spent a year and a half on the “zero line”, in direct proximity to the enemy.
A particularly significant and emotional moment of the event was the awarding of the Order for Courage 3rd Class to Ihor Yarmolinskyi by the brigade command in the halls of the Museum.
During the event, the defender solemnly transferred to the Museum’s collection wartime artifacts – blood-soaked personal belongings, shoulder insignia, and brigade flags, as well as trophies captured from the enemy. The story of one flag especially moved the audience. On the blue-and-yellow cloth was depicted Ihor’s friend and mentor – squad commander of the 101st Guard Brigade of General Staff, Senior Sergeant Volodymyr Bondarenko. The defender was killed in battle on November 29, 2023, but forever remained in the hearts of his comrades.
Addressing Mr. Ihor and those present, Deputy Director General for Research at the Museum Dmytro Hainetdinov emphasized that it is a great honor for the Museum to preserve the story of the defender. From now on, the testimony of the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people will be kept in the Museum forever for future generations.
