13-year-old boy plays at the funerals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

13-year-old Denys Haponiuk from the village of Verba in Rivne region has joined the funeral orchestra that bids farewell to the fallen soldiers. The boy performs this challenging task with respect and friendliness for the sake of the brave fighters at the front. His mother reported that Denys used to be afraid of going to funerals, but when the conversation turns to soldiers, he cannot refuse. The boy admits that he has to concentrate and hold back his emotions to avoid crying. Despite this, he promises to continue playing at funerals. However, he wants to work as a tractor driver, not pursue a musical education.

In other regions of Ukraine, scandals regarding soldiers' funerals are also arising. For instance, in Volyn, the Moscow church refused to hold a service for a soldier in the church, and in Bukovina, representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate did not allow the soldier and his colleagues who came to bid farewell to him to have a service. The situation is similar to that which occurred in Chorna Tysa in the Transcarpathian region, where a priest did not allow the body of the deceased boy to be brought into the church before burial.