Ukrainian opera tenor and volunteer killed in Sumy Oblast
Vladyslav Horai, a renowned tenor and soloist of the Odesa National Opera, was killed in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast while on a volunteer mission, the opera house reported on June 8.
"A tragic loss has shaken the entire Ukrainian arts community," the Odesa National Opera wrote in a Facebook post. "Today, June 8, while carrying out his volunteer mission in the Sumy region, the soloist of the Odesa National Opera, a world-class tenor, volunteer, father, a man of great heart, and Honored Artist of Ukraine — Vladyslav Horai — was killed."
Horai was widely known both in Ukraine and internationally for his voice and stage presence, according to his colleagues. "Vladyslav was not just a talent of the stage — he was an example of strength, dignity, and kindness in life," the opera house said.
Horai had been a member of the opera troupe at the Odesa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet since 1993. He was a laureate of the National Chamber Music Competition in Khmelnytskyi and the International Antonín Dvořák Vocal Competition in Karlovy Vary, Czechia, and was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine in 2013.
"Even in the darkest of times, he never stood aside — he helped, volunteered, supported. The Odesa National Opera is in mourning. The stage on which he lived will sound different without him."
Read also: These Ukrainian artists, writers were killed by Russia's war
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Drone attack ignites blaze in Russia's Chuvashia Republic, media reports
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Explosions and massive fires followed a drone attack on the Russian city of Cheboksary in the Chuvashia Republic, Russian Telegram news channels reported in the early hours of June 9. Ukrainian drones allegedly targeted an oil depot in Cheboksary in a previous attack in March. In video footage from local residents purporting to show the June 9 strike, smoke and flames can be seen rising over the city of Cheboksary. One video, published by the Russian independent news outlet Astra, shows a drone approaching the target and making impact, causing another explosion. 0:00 / 1× Russian officials have not yet commented on the alleged attack and the Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Overnight drone strikes in Russia reportedly triggered flight restrictions at airports in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, and Tambov. Ukraine reportedly attacked the Burevestnik oil refinery in Cheboksary on March 9, in its first reported drone attack against the Chuvashia Republic. The refinery lies over 900 kilometers (559 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Since 2022, Kyiv has launched repeated attacks against Russian refineries, which Ukraine considers to be valid military targets. In recent days, Ukraine has launched a number of strikes against military facilities in Russia, including missile bases and airfields. The most audacious and high-profile attack came on June 1, when Ukraine carried out Operation Spiderweb — a mass drone strike that simultaneously targeted four major Russian air bases, reportedly damaging 41 planes. Read also: Ukraine war latest: US expects Russia's retaliation for Operation Spiderweb to continue soon; Ukraine denies Russian troop presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, describes situation as 'tense' We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Russian missiles target western Ukraine in latest mass attack
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukraine overnight on June 9, assailing cities across the country with drones and missiles. Multiple rounds of explosions have been reported in Rivne, a city far from the front lines in northwestern Ukraine, amid an ongoing drone and missile attack. The mass strike comes shortly after Russia on June 6 launched 452 drones and 45 missiles at Ukraine in a single night — one of the largest aerial attacks in the full-scale war. The Kremlin claimed the bombardment was retaliation for Kyiv's Operation Spiderweb drone strike on Russian strategic aircraft. Ukraine's Air Force issued aerial alerts throughout the night on June 8-9, warning multiple regions of the threat of ballistic missiles and Shahed-type attack drones. Explosions have been reported in Kyiv and Rivne. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the Russian aerial attacks in western Ukraine. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that an office building in the capital's Darnytsia district had been damaged in the attack. Read also: Trump administration redirects 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine, Zelensky confirms Reuters reported on June 8 that the U.S. expects Russia to launch more large-scale, multi-pronged strikes at Ukraine in the coming days as part of Moscow's "asymmetrical" response to Operation Spiderweb. The Kremlin's retaliation could target high-value government sites, such as administrative buildings or intelligence facilities, a Western diplomatic source said. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on June 1 carried out an audacious mass drone attack on four key Russian air bases, reportedly damaging 41 military planes, including the heavy bombers Moscow uses to carry out attacks on Ukrainian cities. The operation took 18 months to plan and execute, and allegedly caused $7 billion of damage to Russia's aerial fleet. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly warned U.S. President Donald Trump during a June 5 phone call that Moscow was preparing a response to the operation. That night, Russia's mass strikes injured 80 people and killed four civilians, including emergency workers. Trump said the next day that Operation Spiderweb "gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night." Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb exclusively targeted military facilities — specifically, the aircraft used to bomb civilian targets in Ukraine. The strike followed three years of aerial attacks and three months of Russian refusal to accept a ceasefire. In the days leading up to the June 1 operation, Russia launched three heavy aerial attacks against Ukraine over three consecutive nights. President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the idea that Russia's attacks are a response to Operation Spiderweb. Following a night and day of relentless bombings in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Zelensky on June 7 said Russia's strikes were "not 'retaliation' but acts of destruction." Read also: Ukraine war latest: US expects Russia's retaliation for Operation Spiderweb to continue soon; Ukraine denies Russian troop presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, describes situation as 'tense' We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian opera tenor and volunteer killed in Sumy Oblast
Vladyslav Horai, a renowned tenor and soloist of the Odesa National Opera, was killed in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast while on a volunteer mission, the opera house reported on June 8. "A tragic loss has shaken the entire Ukrainian arts community," the Odesa National Opera wrote in a Facebook post. "Today, June 8, while carrying out his volunteer mission in the Sumy region, the soloist of the Odesa National Opera, a world-class tenor, volunteer, father, a man of great heart, and Honored Artist of Ukraine — Vladyslav Horai — was killed." Horai was widely known both in Ukraine and internationally for his voice and stage presence, according to his colleagues. "Vladyslav was not just a talent of the stage — he was an example of strength, dignity, and kindness in life," the opera house said. Horai had been a member of the opera troupe at the Odesa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet since 1993. He was a laureate of the National Chamber Music Competition in Khmelnytskyi and the International Antonín Dvořák Vocal Competition in Karlovy Vary, Czechia, and was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine in 2013. "Even in the darkest of times, he never stood aside — he helped, volunteered, supported. The Odesa National Opera is in mourning. The stage on which he lived will sound different without him." Read also: These Ukrainian artists, writers were killed by Russia's war We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
