Honoring Ukraine’s defender Vasyl’s life and legacy.

I actually cry very rarely, but today, holding a cross in my hands and looking at the funeral plaque, I can’t hold back the tears.

Alina Otzemko story.

You can know and understand everything, but when you stand in a cemetery and look at the plaque with the birth and death dates of the person dearest to you, reality hits you dozens of times harder.

No, his body was never returned to us. Most likely, we will never find the remains at all.

It wasn’t easy, but on June 6th, exactly on the eve of the anniversary, we managed to legally declare Vasyl deceased.

In my hands is the death certificate — a testimony that he is no longer here. Not anywhere. Literally nowhere.

And memory fades, because even the place where people could remember him still doesn’t exist.

But the fight for freedom means nothing without the names of those who paid for it with their blood.
That’s why we will have a burial without a body. A cenotaph.

I remember the dozens of fundraisers I organized. You always responded and supported them. And I am unspeakably grateful to each and every one of you for that.

I did it to save him, to protect him. I failed. That was the one thing I wanted most — and the one thing I couldn’t do.

For a year now, every single day, I wake up and fall asleep with the same thought: could I have done more? Done better? Could I have somehow changed the course of that night? Prevented it, diverted it, protected him?

I don’t know… But I do know for sure that I can preserve the memory of Vasyl — so that his sacrifice isn’t entirely in vain.

Today, I’m asking for your help again. This time, to make sure the candle of remembrance for my husband doesn’t burn out.

This won’t be a fundraiser, no. Fundraisers are for the living.

Now I need to earn just over 100,000 UAH within a month to order a headstone – the only thing that will remain for Yurko and me to remember him by.

So I’m asking you to purchase any of my products. You can gift them to those in need – families of the fallen, libraries, or schools.

Or keep one for yourself.

Below, I’ll leave a list of what I can offer:

1. Book “Why Isn’t Dad Home?” – available in print and e-book,

2. Book “Why Did Dad Die?” – available in print and e-book,

3. Webinar “The Peculiarities of the Military Psyche and How to Communicate with Soldiers”,

4. Webinar “How to Talk to Children About Loss”,

5. Metaphorical Cards “Delicate Petals of the Soul” – printed set,