Kharkiv Said Goodbye to Poet and Soldier Oleksiy Ivakin Denys Glushko - 29 September 2023

Kharkiv poet and soldier of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade Oleksiy Ivakin was killed in action in the Zaporizhzhia sector. He passed away on September 6. However, the body was brought to Kharkiv only a few days ago. “He was a true defender of the Motherland and a very bright man. We have never met anyone who had anything bad to say about Oleksiy. Not a single person,” the Litslam Telegram channel, of which he was a member, commented.

Oleksiy was an inspirer and participant of this cultural community in Kharkiv. He mostly wrote in Russian, although he also had pieces in Ukrainian in his repertoire. He was engaged in creative work almost all his life.

“God, I still don’t believe it. Lesha Ivakin, you were an excellent friend. I remember all the summer evenings, all the trips, all the meetings at your house. And of course your poems and the way you read. How we used to run around in the steppes somewhere in the Neighbouring World, in tents and poems.

Lesha Ivakin died. On the same damned road.

The family needs help.

Eternal Glory.

Honour,” Vlada Dumenko, a friend of the fallen soldier, wrote on Facebook.

The soldier, 35, is survived by two children and a wife. A fundraising campaign has been organized for the family of the hero. Look – the city melt in the sun. Smoke from the chimney, a glass of water. Friends gone, an excuse to get drunk. That’s how dreams dissolve

and my teeth gnaw on the stones. I spit bloody spit. Fog, wall, barriers, shutters. Make me a uniform, for the battle is coming soon.

There are revolutions, there are tanks… There’s a young soldier going grey. Look how the planes tango dancing inappropriately with the stars.

Such a pretty cadet, and you and I are alone again. I fell asleep at a party, as usual. No revolutions, no love.

The editorial team of Gwara Media expresses sincere condolences to the family and friends of the fallen Ukrainian defender.