Ilya Pidgainy
27 years old, lawyer
Ilya Pidgainy
Poltava
August 8, 1997,
Kremenchuk, Poltava region
Law Schools of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Lawyer at “Vasyl Kisil & Partners” and Avitar
Senior Lieutenant in the 205th Separate Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces
July 16, 2025, in the Kharkiv region
Oleg Pidgainy, Ilya’s father:
My son is Ilya. My darling! He was killed in action on July 16, 2025, in the Kharkiv region. The pain is indescribable! Incredible, unfathomable, incurable… Unreal. It is by no means immodest of me to say that Ilya is the Pride and Honor of the Nation. Son, Brother, Husband, Grandson. To many – a true Friend. He was, is, and always will be! I have one great dream, even greater than Ukraine’s victory in this war against Mordor. I wish that that huge, shit-colored spot on the globe – or that country of filth – would turn into permafrost. May all the filth, plankton, and infusoria there perish. We will remember Ilya. Senior Lieutenant of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. He gave his loved ones and friends so much warmth and love. Glory to Ukraine!
Svitlana Khilyuk, Director of the UCU School of Law:
Ilya firmly and calmly stood up for what he believed in, both in word and deed. He spoke out whenever he felt that dignity was being trampled upon. He calmly swam against the current. He called things by their proper names.
Ilya cared deeply. People mattered to him. He worried about what would happen at his university and what the future held for his country. Ilya believed that you had to take responsibility and do your work well and honestly – then everything would work out.
And he also knew how to laugh from the heart. Every class of students in our community has some unique trait. The class of 2018, which Ilya Pidgainy joined, knew how to find joy. My goodness, how they laughed. A kind, sincere, refined laugh that came from the depths of their souls – that kind of healing laughter that helps you not take yourself or everyday life too seriously. He knew how to laugh with his eyes and the corners of his lips – with childlike sincerity and adult depth.
We spoke for the last time on May 8. Ilya was delighted about the establishment of the law school and had ideas about what he could teach here after the war, what students need to learn today in light of the challenges of wartime, and he was planning to come to UCU… Rest in peace. May his memory live on forever. Thank you for your service