Son of Ukrainian Poets Killed in the War.

Ukrainian poet Taras Illya, son of Valentyna Otroshchenko and Valerii Illya, died at the front. He was a young poet recently mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This loss was announced by Anna More, executive producer of Hromadske Radio.

Taras Illya was a well-known poet who received the Oleksandr Honchar Prize in 2013 for his poetry collection "Roots of the Ocean". He studied at the Taras Shevchenko University in Kyiv and was a fan of the football team "Dynamo" Kyiv.

In poetic circles, he was called "the General". He was mobilized into the Armed Forces in June 2024.

I'll convey the wishes of Mrs. Valentyna. She buried her husband, now she will bury her son, and it's very difficult for her. Valentyna Ivanivna asks that those who knew Taras, studied with him at Shevchenko, or heard his poems come

Funeral of the poet and warrior Taras Illya is likely to take place next week at Lisove Cemetery.

Illya’s Parents – Prominent Ukrainian Poets

Valentyna Otroshchenko is a well-known poet, a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine since 1991. She is the author of poetry collections "Faith" and "In Cuckoo's Silence". Her works are included in several anthologies, such as "Sixty Poets of the Sixties" and "The Word of Annunciation".

Taras's father, Valerii Illya, was a poet and essayist, representative of the Kyiv School of Poetry and laureate of the Vasyl Symonenko Literary Prize. He is the author of collections "Behind the Mists, the Blacksmiths", "Svarga", "With Eyes Wide Open".

Earlier, an adviser to the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Nykytiuk were killed by shelling from Russian forces in the city of Dobropillia in Donetsk region.

Also, a rescuer in Donetsk region died due to the attack by the Russian Federation.