The wedding never happened. Olha, the fiancée of the fallen soldier, Vitalii, did a photoshoot in memory of her beloved

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1. Olha Hannoshyna shows her wedding dress:

   “I was supposed to wear it on May 25 for our wedding with Vitalii.” 

   The initial idea of the photoshoot was to live through the day of the wedding that never happened as her fiance was killed defending Ukraine from russian occupiers.

   “But during the preparation and during the photoshoot itself, I felt that it was something completely different, that maybe someone would experience this story for a short period — someone for a minute, someone for two, someone for an hour, someone for a month, but they would remember him, remember that there was a soldier who gave his life for these people. And perhaps this prompted some women and girls who wanted to do something similar. Many women wrote in the comments to me that they still haven’t dared to put on their wedding dresses, that they have been hanging in the closet for a long time, and they are even afraid to open it.

   Living through this is difficult, and understanding that we were supposed to have a wedding, but unfortunately had a funeral, is truly very hard. I feel for all mothers, women, fiancées, loved ones. Because living with this is very difficult, and accepting it is very difficult. But I try to hold myself together, because in any case, he would have told me: “Olya, enough crying, pull yourself together, everything will be fine. You can do it.” He always said that. 

   **Olha on how they started dating:** 

   “I served in the police of Rivne. I met him through mutual acquaintances as I was processing a car accident. And that’s how communication started. His vacation ended, he went to the Donetsk Direction, and later returned to the training center to undergo training as a detachment commander. It was during this training that he asked for my police chevron, saying it would be his talisman and he would carry it with him. In return, he gave me his chevron of the 24th Brigade. I wore it to work, while his police chevron was always with him on duty. With it, he perished.”

   It still has his blood on it. 

   **On Engagement:**

   “I look at our joint photos now and I just can’t believe he’s gone. These pictures were taken in the happiest moments of our lives. I traveled to the front line almost every month to be with him there. He always found a way to see me.”

   In Donetsk region, during one her visits, Vitalii proposed to Olha.

   **Olha keeps many things that remind her of her fiancé:**

   “The most memorable item is his phone. The phone that was last with him, from which he texted me at 4:18 in the morning, and he was killed within an hour. There are still traces of blood on it because he was holding this phone in his hands. And the most memorable for me are his perfumes. They remind me of the time when we had just started communicating. Perhaps it’s the dearest scent that I would like to remember forever.”

   She said that she fell apart a day after the funeral, as then she realized there is nothing else to look forward to. 

   Olha visits her fiance grave all the time. She speaks to him, shares what happens with her during the day. She says that some people prefer not to think about the war. 

   “We have to live through the war, because in our country there is war — a brutal war with ruthless aggressors who have come to our land and are killing the best of us. They are killing our brothers, parents, sisters; little children are dying. And we must always remember this.”

   Source: [https://suspilne.media/ternopil/766805-vesilla-tak-i-ne-docekalisa-narecena-bijca-24-i-ombr-vitalia-maluka-zrobila-fotosesiu-v-pamat-pro-zagiblogo-kohanogo/](https://suspilne.media/ternopil/766805-vesilla-tak-i-ne-docekalisa-narecena-bijca-24-i-ombr-vitalia-maluka-zrobila-fotosesiu-v-pamat-pro-zagiblogo-kohanogo/) 

2. Any time I think I have a bad day, I read something like this and tell myself to shut up. I don’t have it that bad. 

   Donate, help Ukraine to defeat the orc horde and prevent more stories like this from happening. 

3. I hate this for her. I hate this for him. I hate this for the people of Ukraine.

   Also fuck russia.

4. These poor people were just living their normal lives when an impotent dictator felt he had to steal a quick victory to boost his standing. It makes my blood boil that we, the collective west, are holding back anything that will stop the Russians from killing more Ukrainians. Give them all they need to strike all logistics deep behind the true border with Russia.