Friend and photographer gives details of death in action of Hero of Ukraine ‘Da Vinci’
Liberov published photos of Da Vinci taken in the last days of his life (Photo:libkos/Instagram)
Details of the death of Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsyubailo (call sign ‘Da Vinci’) have been released by friend and photographer Kostiantyn Liberov, who documents Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with his wife Vlada.
Da Vinci, a battalion commander of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, was killed in action near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, at the age of 27.
The shelling occurred before his very eyes, Liberov said in a post on Instagram on March 7.
The photographer recalled stories of his friend.
“The day before yesterday, right before my eyes, you drove a tank into an enemy landing site, and after that, you led people to storm (the enemy positions),” Liberov wrote, posting the soldier’s last photos.
“And they followed without thinking because they trusted their commander,” he wrote.
“The next day, you put out a full tank of burning fuel with one bucket of water with your bare hands, at a time when everyone was afraid to even come close to it. Hero of Ukraine. The best of the best. Warrior. Friend. Legend.”
The photographer recalled Da Vinci’s last moments.
“It happened right before our eyes. The shelling. You told us to stay in shelters. Explosions, lots of explosions. The shouts (were heard) in a minute: Doctor! Doctor! Da Vinci!”
Everyone believed that the doctors would be able to save the life of the Ukrainian hero.
“We believed until the end,” Liberov said.
“We prayed until the end. You were the bravest, the most determined of anyone we knew. You seemed immortal. We’ll be proud to have known you until the end of our days. Heroes never die.”
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