Shortly before his death, he called to say goodbye.
In September 2023, Pereiaslav bid farewell to 44-year-old defender Kostiantyn Palatnyi, who had been killed in the war. He was conscripted into military service in May of that year. The warrior served as a rifleman in a rifle battalion and was killed as a result of artillery shelling while carrying out a combat mission near the village of Opytne in the Donetsk region. Relatives, friends, servicemen, local authorities, and residents of the city came to pray for their defender and accompany him on his final journey.
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The funeral service took place in the Dormition Cathedral. Military honors for Kostiantyn Palatnyi were rendered for the last time at the Zaaltytske Cemetery. Pereiaslav community head Viacheslav Saulko expressed his sincere condolences to the mother, brother, and relatives of the deceased.
“Our Alley of Heroes has, unfortunately, gained another defender who gave the most precious thing, his life, for the freedom and independence of Ukraine. He is now one of those warrior-angels resting in our community, and we will always remember their feat. Every day, we receive terrible news; hundreds of thousands have died in Ukraine. But for a year and a half, the sky over our community has been clear and peaceful. I want each of you to always remember thanks to whom this is so, for each person passing by a grave or the Alley of Glory to stop and pay tribute to them,” said the city leader.
Senior officer of the recruitment and manning department of the 1st Division of the Boryspil District Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support, Captain Andrii Zahnoiko, addressed those present.
“We live in difficult times, when the very fact of the existence of the Ukrainian nation is under threat. Kostiantyn, like every Ukrainian man, faced a choice: to renounce his citizenship and run, or to act like a real man. And he did what he had to—he took up arms and stood in defense of his Homeland, community, and family. Unfortunately, war takes the best of us. Independence, the right to be Ukrainians, to speak Ukrainian, to be free people in a free country—these are won at this terrible cost. We must remember this and be grateful. Grateful when meeting his mother, and when remembering him,” the serviceman emphasized.
The grieving mother recounted that when Kostiantyn was handed the draft notice, he immediately went to the military enlistment office and passed the medical examination:
“He had only one kidney, osteochondrosis, and who knows how many illnesses; he could have avoided going, but he went. I look at the phone, and it still seems as though he will call any moment.”
His brother Vadym remembered Kostiantyn as a kind man who loved life.
“He worked in Poland, in the Czech Republic, and here in construction, and returned to Ukraine in January, just before the war began. The last time he called me was four hours before his death. He said goodbye. It was already very frightening there. Before that, he had been at the tip of the spear for three days; a shell hit the trench next to them, and the guys were killed. He said then: ‘God spared us.’ But he didn’t…” the brother of the fallen said with grief.
The military solemnly presented Kostiantyn Palatnyi’s family with the flag that had draped his coffin. In honor of the Hero, a rifle salute pierced the sky three times.
Private Kostiantyn Oleksandrovych Palatnyi was posthumously awarded the Order for Courage, 3rd Class.
Eternal honor and glory to the warrior!
Photo from Proslav website
Source: In memory of rifleman from Pereiaslav region, Kostiantyn Palatnyi
