Kostiantyn Yuzviuk, with the call sign “Istanbul,” served in the 117th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia direction. The soldier sustained severe injuries during a cluster munition shelling and passed away in the hospital on the morning of July 18, according to his family. He was 23 years old.
Kostiantyn supported the activities of UAnimals—he spread information about animal rights and later assisted with evacuations. In 2021, he organized the Animal Rights March in Rivne. He was a vegan and spoke about it publicly.
“When Kostya saw a problem, he just had to fix it. In Rivne, a man was picking tulips from a flower bed, and Kostya made him replant the flowers back,” says Kostiantyn’s sister, Anastasiia.
Kostya lived in Rivne and, after his studies, dedicated almost all his time to community activities. In particular, he worked in camps of the community organization “BUR” (“Building Ukraine Together”), where volunteers rebuild public facilities in small towns and villages across Ukraine.
Kostiantyn went to the military commissariat on February 24, 2022, with a friend. He was sent home. “Kostya said, if I can’t fight, I’ll find a way to help. And he began evacuating animals from frontline areas,” says Anastasiia. He evacuated animals with a friend and several times with the UAnimals team. He rehomed the animals, sometimes even abroad. Meanwhile, he taught himself military skills and joined the Armed Forces a year ago. He was a drone operator and a section commander in the 117th Brigade. He got the call sign “Istanbul” because of the Byzantine name of the city—Constantinople, which is similar to his name. In the military, Kostya often consulted UAnimals rescuers on safety in different regions.
His sister says, “He was very stubborn. Once he saw a goal, it was impossible to convince him to act otherwise. Even if he made mistakes, he would say it was intentional. That’s how he joined the military. Kostya wrote a farewell letter. He said, if I die, don’t blame yourselves. It was his conscious choice.”
It was an honor for UAnimals to work with Kostiantyn.
