Television director and defender of Ukraine Vasyl Yavorskyi was killed in battle with Russian occupiers in the Luhansk region on October 21, 2022.
Vasyl Yavorskyi lived his whole life in his hometown of Lviv. From 2008, he worked as a cameraman at Lviv TV and radio companies such as Teleboyman and Media Club. Two years later, he came to work as a chief director at the TV Channel ZIK. In 2019, Vasyl resigned after the media was purchased by a pro-Russian oligarch.
Working on broadcasts at the TV Channel Espresso turned out to be Vasyl’s last professional experience. Yavorskyi was accurate and responsible in his job. His colleagues remember his ability to work even at night in order to ensure a story made it to air in the morning.
“Vasyl was a great professional and very creative man. Our program was not a simple one to make, but Vasyl was always a trustworthy and reliable colleague. I always knew that he could handle all the tasks, even when overloaded with urgent work,” says Anastasiia Ravva, chief editor of Espresso TV.
From the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s east in 2014, Vasyl Yavorskyi was engaged in making documentaries about the war. He was, in particular, a co-author of the project The Story of a Hero and director of the film Last Medic at the Terminal (dedicated to combat medic Ihor Zinych).
It was then that Yavorskyi wished to enlist himself for the first time but could not do that due to health reasons. His wife Svitlana says that he wouldn’t forgive himself for that for many years. It hurt him much to see what his country had to suffer, and he wanted to take his part in the liberation of Ukraine.
“Vasyl was fond of history and everything strong – coffee, cigarettes, music, word, and stance. He was among those who believed that the war dated back not to 2022 or even 2014. His chronological scale of the Ukrainian fight for freedom covered the last 400 years at the very least,” Svitlana recalls.
Yavorskyi was well aware of a great war ahead of Ukraine. Shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion, he enlisted in the Territorial Defense Forces. “There was no other option in his frame of reference,” his wife explains his decision.
Vasyl warned his colleagues that he would go to defend Ukraine. That was how he had seen his mission then, though he cared for his work and program. The team did not want to let go of such a professional, yet they respected his choice.
At 5:30 a.m. on February 24, 2022, when the first explosions were heard across Ukraine, Yavorskyi went to work. He woke up at dawn every day to put out morning broadcasts. He had to wake his wife at 6:55 with a telephone call but decided to protect her from dreadful news as long as possible. After the morning program, Vasyl gathered his belongings and went to a conscription office. He defended Ukraine from then within the ranks of the 103rd separate brigade in the eastern direction.
“Vasyl was a real man both by nature and in his funny habits. He was a talented director, and many of his creative ideas died with him, too,” says Yavorskyi’s wife Svitlana. “He dreamt about free Ukraine, wanted revenge for every offended life, for his mother’s every tear, for every day he had to spend far from home. He always smiled and was nice, pure, and honest. He never lied to himself or was afraid of anything until his very last breath.”
Vasyl was 44 years old. He had a wife, a son, parents, a sister, and a nephew.
