An entire family lost in a single moment: the story of Lviv resident Yaroslav Bazylevych becomes part of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

Yaroslav Bazylevych from Lviv lost everything that mattered most to him — his entire family. A russian missile that struck their apartment building killed Yaroslav's wife, 43-year-old Yevheniia Bazylevych, and their three daughters: 21-year-old Yaryna, 18-year-old Dariia and 6-year-old Emiliia. The tragedy of the Bazylevych family became one of the most devastating losses for Lviv and for all of Ukraine. Yaroslav shared his story with the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

On the night of 4 September 2024, during an air raid alert, Yaroslav's family went to the stairwell, which they believed was a relatively safe place. A minute before the missile struck, he returned to the apartment to get some water. At that moment, Yevheniia called him, asking him to come back as quickly as possible. Suddenly, the call was cut off, and the missile exploded.

Until the very end, Yaroslav believed that his family had survived. He did not yet know that this would be the last time he would ever hear his wife's voice.

"I wasn't trapped under the rubble. I was in the apartment and couldn't get downstairs. The apartment had been destroyed. I spent about an hour and a half to two hours moving around inside it. At that moment, I couldn't see out of one eye and had numerous minor cuts. Overall, it took four hours to clear the rubble," Yaroslav recalls.

The bodies of seven people were recovered from beneath the rubble, including the four women of the Bazylevych family. They had no chance of surviving — the russian missile struck their building directly, mercilessly wiping out an entire family's future in a single moment. The youngest daughter, Emiliia, had just started Year Two at school. Yaryna worked for Lviv – European Youth Capital 2025. Dariia was a second-year Cultural Studies student at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). Their mother, Yevheniia, was a creative person building a career in IT and passionate about yoga.

After such a devastating loss, Yaroslav needed therapy. His friends and loved ones became his greatest support, standing by him during the darkest moments. Yet the pain of his loss remains with him to this day.

"I had one life before: childhood, adolescence, my student years. Then there was family life. Now everything is completely different. So far, I haven't found any meaning in why I'm still here. Right now, if I'm being completely honest, it just feels like I'm passing the time. Just going through the motions," says Yaroslav.

Today, what matters most to Yaroslav is preserving the memory of his family and helping the world recognise the reality of russian terror, whose victims continue to be ordinary civilians in Ukrainian cities every day.

"I want to preserve the memory of my family, of my girls. One way of doing that is by establishing a scholarship fund together with UCU in memory of Yevheniia, Yaryna, Dariia and Emiliia. We have organised many memorial evenings dedicated to the girls' birthdays. I have also tried to advocate for Ukraine's interests before Western politicians. I have spoken at the Bundestag, in The Hague, and before a committee of the Dutch Parliament. I have also been to Washington and the Warsaw Security Forum," says Yaroslav Bazylevych.

Watch Yaroslav Bazylevych's story here: https://bit.ly/4eZa60Y

The collection of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation already numbers more than 145,000 stories about the war. This is the largest collection in the world of testimonies from civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine.