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✇Euromaidan Press

Ukrainian high-schoolers hold graduation ceremony at cemetery. Russian missile killed their classmate and his two siblings

Par :Vira Kravchuk
31 mai 2025 à 05:08

Ukrainian high school students visit a gravesite of their classmate and his two siblings killed by a Russian missile strike. Their class teacher conducts a "last bell" graduation ceremony for the oldest of the siblings, Roman.

A Ukrainian high school class held their final graduation ceremony at a cemetery to honor a classmate and his two siblings killed in a Russian missile strike.

Despite the US efforts to negotiate peace, Russia only intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities, causing civilian casualties and destroying infrastructure. Russian forces deliberately target civilians in Ukraine to inflict terror and break the resistance of Ukrainians, forcing them to accept Russian demands. The UN documented that between 13,000 and an estimated 40,000 civilians have died due to Russian attacks since 2022, however the exact number remains unknown as the hostilities continue. 

The high-school students from the school in Korostyshiv, central Zhytomyr Oblast, visited the graves of their 17-year-old classmate Roman Martyniuk and his younger sister Tamara, 12, and younger brother Stanislav, 8, who died on 25 May after the Russian missile hit their home.

“The day of the last bell [traditional event to mark the end of a high school year], which should have been filled with joy, hugs, tears of happiness and farewell to school, turned into a day of silence, grief and deep pain,” the school wrote on Facebook. 

The class teacher conducted the last bell ceremony at the gravesite without the customary loud bells or music. The ceremony was described as being held “with deep reverence, respect and love.”

Roman Martyniuk, 17 (right) and his younger siblings Tamara, 12, and Stanislav, 8 (left) who died in their home in a 25 May Russian missile attack.

Instead of traditional graduation celebrations, the students brought toys, cards, and pieces of birthday cake to the cemetery. Tamara would have celebrated her birthday on the day before the ceremony.

“Today we once again felt how war steals not only lives – it steals childhood, youth, holidays, memories that should have been warm…,” the school’s post stated.

Two older children were living separately and survived because they were not home during the strike. Both parents survived the attack, though the mother required surgery and was in serious condition before the funeral, while the father sustained less severe injuries and attended the burial service on 28 May.

The lyceum principal told that Roman excelled in Ukrainian history and demonstrated strong aptitude in physics, a subject that poses difficulties for many peers.

The two younger children were enrolled at the community music school, where they learned to play the domra, a traditional stringed instrument. The siblings were reportedly in preparation for their music school graduation at the time of the attack. Tamara expressed interest in becoming a mathematics teacher like her mother, who survived the strike but lost her children. 

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