The St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv is where Kyiv mourns its soldiers and its prominent dead, the casualties of Russia that began more than four years ago. Two white coffins, side by side, bore the bodies of two girls, Liubava Yakovlieva (12) and Vira (17), killed when a Russian missile tore through their Kyiv. The girls’ mother, Tetiana, sat beside the coffins, the family’s sole surviving member. Dozens of children attended the funeral. Classmates, dressed in black, supported each other.
A man kneels next to the coffins of sisters Liubava and Vira Yakovleva, killed by a Russia n rocket strike on a residential building earlier this month, during their funeral, in Kyiv, Ukraine , Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Before the war, he was known as a talented cook, fisherman and handyman. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he enlisted. He was killed in action on April 7, 2023, near the village of Dibrova in the Luhansk region. The younger Liubava was a contradiction, small and seemingly fragile but inwardly strong, remembered Tetiana Osipova, a family friend who had served alongside the girls’ father.
Four years ago, St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery became a symbol of Kyiv’s mourning soldiers and prominent dead, the casualties of Russia's attack. Up to dozens of children attended the funeral of the sisters, dressed in black and sharing support. Adults and children wept. In Kyiv, family members sit beside the coffins of the sisters killed by a Russian rocket strike
Russia Ukraine St. Michael’S Golden-Domed Monastery Russia-Ukraine Conflict Humanitarian Issues Conflict Casualties Conflict Memorials Ukrainian Capital Kyiv Russian Missile
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