A former player for the Ukrainian national team and Dynamo died in the war

Roman Maksymiuk, a former midfielder for the national team and Kyiv’s “Dynamo,” was killed in the battles for Ukraine’s independence against Russian terrorist forces. His death was confirmed by DNA analysis after a year of searching and hoping for his return.

Roman Maksymiuk had been listed as missing in action since early 2025. The Ukrainian soldier last made contact on January 30, 2025, while his unit was carrying out combat missions in the Pokrovsk area.

The athlete joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fall of 2022, enlisting as a volunteer. He served as a gunner with the 25th Separate Sicheslav Airborne Brigade. His comrades noted that Maksymiuk fought with great bravery on the front lines, for which he was later awarded a military decoration.

“The miracle did not happen. A year of hope, anticipation, prayers, and faith… A year during which we lived between heaven and earth, clinging to the slightest glimmer of hope and believing that Roma would return home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, offered support, helped with the search, and kept hope alive. Please remember my Roma. He wasn’t just a soldier missing in action. He was a husband, a father, a son, a friend—a man who was loved and awaited,” wrote Vira, the wife of the fallen soldier, on social media.

As a reminder, former Ukrainian basketball player Klym Liiv, who played in the Premier League and worked as a youth coach, was killed in the war. Shortly before his death, he received a state award.

On September 19, Mykola Karpyuk, a former Kremlin political prisoner, civic and political activist, and co-founder of the UNA-UNSO, was killed on the front lines while carrying out a combat mission in the Zaporizhzhia sector. 

Earlier, Oleksiy Yukov, the head of the “Platsdarm” search and rescue team from Sloviansk, was killed.