LVV, Ukraine – Close friends of Artemis Tymid unwrapped his parachute and slowly spread it over his grave. As he lowered his coffin the red and silk-like objects rotated.
The men, many soldiers themselves, covered the newly dug pit with soil. The first shovels came down loudly.
In the western city of Elviv in Ukraine, people who saw the relentless stream of their sons killed in the war with Russia, Mr. Funeral of the Navy of the Timid, the first funeral of the day. At the end of Tuesday, mr. The three newly dug tombs near Timothy will be filled with young soldiers who died in battle hundreds of miles east of the country.
Funeral rites a Greek Catholic ChurchA Eastern Branch Catholicism prevalent in Lviv. Mr. Timothy’s father, a priest, paid his respects. Then his mother, in an emotionally dense voice, sang a final lullaby for her son.
The procession then made a very familiar journey from the church to the main market square of the city, where dozens of young men in scout uniforms formed an honor guard. Mr. Timid, 27, has been a member of the Ukrainian Scout Organization since he was 7 years old. Small children, teenagers and adults were there to say goodbye to the final.
At the base of the square, four whiteboards announced details of a military funeral to be held in the city on Tuesday, all for men killed in battle in the east of the country in recent weeks. Three of them did not reach their 30th birthday.
A young woman, wearing the scout’s distinctive green scarf, closed her eyes and took a sharp breath. She clenched her fists to prevent tears as she attended the slow procession for Timothy.
Scouting is only one part of his life. Mr. Timid loved travel and adventure, and extreme sports like parachuting. Gurgaon, which means chicken, is his nickname. Friends said that the Metallica music would have been more appropriate for his funeral than the military mourning that now erupts daily at Liv Licchakiv Cemetery.
“He’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met. People write books about characters like him, and soon there will be books,” he said.
Mr. who ran the wine bar before the war. Mr. Basque, in the Special Operations Division of the Ukrainian Navy. Worked with Timothy. Over the past few months they have become like brothers, he said.
On the night of the attack, which ended his friend’s life, Mr. Basque said, he woke up to the explosion and soon realized something was wrong. He immediately asked Mr. He searched the time and found another friend giving him first aid. Mr. When he looked into Timit’s eyes, he knew it was bad.
“I was scared to be near him,” he said softly. “Because when I saw him I realized he wouldn’t do it.”
Mr. Timid died shortly afterwards.
Mr. Basque said he has mixed feelings about returning to the front line in a few days. He described the waves of emotion, but said he was not angry or vindictive.
“I do not intend to kill everyone because it happened,” he said. Said Basque. “Thanks to Gurgaon. He taught me to be quiet.
Roman Lojinski, a fellow Marine, has been Mr. Was a friend of Timothy and met him when they were young scouts. The Member of Parliament for Ukraine, Mr. Mr. Lojinski, who volunteered in the military three months ago, said he had no plans to retire. Timothy and Mr. Served in the same department as Basque.
He described his lifelong friend as “crazy” and returned to Ukraine from a parachuting trip in Brazil to list when the war began. Mr. Timid wanted to continue parachuting during the war, and finally got an opportunity last month as part of a mission, his friends said.
Mr. Timothy’s brother, Dimitro Timothy, wanted to place the parachute in his grave. Mr. Lojinsky, on the game of parachuting. The brother of a soldier was allowed to attend the funeral, but would return to the Donetsk region in a few days.
While the mourners walk slowly out of the grave, the tomb diggers Mr. At Timidin’s tomb the earth was pushed to a firm mound.
Three more had to go.
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