Canadian killed in Ukraine remembered as ‘great son’ at Kyiv funeral

Air raid sirens pierced through the silence and prayers during Grygorii Tsekhmistrenko’s funeral on Friday – a reminder of how the 28-year-old lost his life.

Tsekhmistrenko, known as Greg to friends, volunteered as a combat medic to fight the Russian invasion of Ukraine, his home country. According to his family, he was killed in action last weekend in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city that has been a key battleground in the war.

About 250 people – friends, family and soldiers – gathered at a Kyiv funeral home to see Tsekhmistrenko’s coffin, draped in Ukrainian and Canadian flags near a pile of bouquets.

Tsekhmistrenko lived in Kinistino, Sask., for a year with his parents before moving to Port Alice, BC, on Vancouver Island. His parents had traveled to Kyiv in September to support their son during the war and the family only spent Orthodox Christmas together.

At the funeral, Tsekhmistrenko’s mother knelt by his body, crying and stroking his hair.

In the afternoon, the group moved to a cemetery on the southern outskirts of Kyiv for burial.

“He was ready to serve. He loved. He thought. He was just a wonderful son, and a wonderful friend,” Vitalii Tsekhmistrenko told CBC News after his son was just buried.

The volunteer doctor was hailed as a hero

Tsekhmistrenko’s body was brought back from the front line by members of the unit, including a Canadian veteran named Anton, who gave only his first name for security reasons.

Anton, a Ukrainian-Canadian himself who served with the Canadian Armed Forces, said Tsekhmistrenko went to provide medical aid to members of the unit after they were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Then, he said the second grenade was struck.

“Because Greg is a very large individual, when he was helping with medical treatment, he absorbed a lot of the blast, which allowed him to save one of the members who is currently undergoing surgery in the hospital,” Anton told CBC News. outside the funeral home.

He said Tsekhmistrenko “put everyone else first” before himself.

“When we were in Bakhmut in the basement, the artillery was constantly firing, one of our members’ birthday. Greg went to the city safer and bought a cake for that individual. We celebrated with what little joy we could,” said Anton.

“I don’t know [Tsekhmistrenko’s] birthday is the next day. He kept it to himself because he didn’t want anyone else to go out of his way for him.

Anton said he and other members of Tsekhmistrenko’s unit need time to grieve, but will return to the front lines when they are ready.

“Greg’s death has given me the strength – and the strength of the team – to continue the fight. To continue helping out Ukraine. This will not sway us at all.”

Andriy Shevchenko is the former Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada, and a family friend, who called Tsekhmistrenko, who was the third Canadian killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a “hero”.

“Greg had a choice to stop or come here and fight evil,” Shevchenko told CBC News outside the funeral.

“We owe it to him, and I know that his death and sacrifice will bring victory closer, and will bring peace closer.”

The Saskatchewan rugby community is outraged

Tsekhmistrenko was living on Vancouver Island when he left for war in 2022, but was still a teenager in central Saskatchewan. Today, there are too many in the small communities that live in this area that are hurting the lives of young people.

“He does what he believes in, and I don’t want to take that away from him. But … he has a lot of potential and he does amazing things every day,” said Darcy Murphy, Tsekhmistrenko’s high school rugby coach.

“It’s a devastating loss. The world has lost a wonderful person.”

Murphy first met Tsekhmistrenko when he was 15 at a rugby trial.

“Instantly, it was like ‘Who is that kid? Wow, where is he from? Just by looking at him, you can tell he’s really fit,'” he said.

“I didn’t take Greg too long to be the best player on the field.”

Later in life, Murphy and Tsekhmistrenko played on the same adult rugby team in Prince Albert, Sask.

Beyond his athleticism, Murphy remembers Tsekhmistrenko as a “very smart” kid.

“In all the years I’ve known him, and especially playing rugby on the field, I’ve never heard him yell. But I’ve always heard him laugh.”