An irreplaceable loss for Ukraine… Defending his homeland, warrior, athlete, and patriot Kostiantyn Syniakevych was killed in action.
The hero was born in the city of Kolomyia, in the Carpathian region. In 1980, his family moved to Bila Tserkva, where Kostiantyn graduated from School No. 9. From a young age, he joined his parents on multi-day hikes through the mountains. After enrolling at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, he joined the mountaineering and rock-climbing club. Upon graduation, he worked in industrial climbing, where his engineering background often proved invaluable.
As a mountaineer, he ascended iconic peaks in the Caucasus via challenging routes — Chegetkara, Ullukara, Ushba, Free Spain… But his true passion was rock climbing — in Crimea, Slovenia, Italy, and the beloved cliffs of Denyshi, a popular destination for Kyiv climbers. There, he often climbed with his wife Tetiana and daughter Mariia. On those rocks, Kostiantyn led 7b-grade routes with lower belay.
Kostiantyn Syniakevych was a prize-winner in numerous rock-climbing competitions, including veterans’ events. In the first days of the full-scale invasion, he and a team of industrial climbers covered the windows of Kyiv’s central railway station with protective netting. Together with some of that team, he later enlisted in the Territorial Defense Forces, and then joined the National Guard. This is how he and his comrade, Oleksandr Polishchuk (callsign “Alpinist”), became part of the “Svoboda” battalion.
Having completed military training during his university years, he was appointed platoon commander. For the successful execution of combat missions, he was awarded a personalized watch by the Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Historian Oleksandr Khomenko recalls: “That first year — the most terrifying, but, when you look back, also the one most filled with meaning for our company — 2022 — they were always side by side. Compass and Alpinist. At the time, we barely distinguished who outranked whom in the company hierarchy — they were a single entity. Compass set the direction, Alpinist reached the summit.”
On December 23, 2022, between Kurdiumivka and Ozarianivka near Bakhmut in Donetsk region, both men fought their final battle. Kostiantyn Syniakevych, callsign “Compass,” was killed by a sniper’s bullet as he rushed to aid his wounded brother-in-arms, Oleksandr Polishchuk. In that battle, he completed his final ascent — to a summit beyond the reach of most.
Eternal glory to the Hero. Rest in peace.