She should have lived. She should have been on her way to Austria for the World Cup, and soon after celebrating her eighteenth birthday. But a Russian missile tore her from life a moment before she could rise again. The tragedy occurred during a Russian attack on Berestyn in the Kharkiv region.
This is how Karyna Bakhur died — a 17-year-old champion of Ukraine and Europe in kickboxing, a multiple winner of Cossack duel tournaments, an athlete with a brilliant future — a girl of whom people said: “a true Cossack.”
Sport entered her life early: at six, she came to the Peresvit sports club. Her athletic biography is a story of rare determination and talent. From her very first children’s competitions, Karyna returned with medals. In her teenage years she became a prize-winner and champion of Ukraine. Later she triumphed on international stages, proving that the Ukrainian school of Cossack duel and kickboxing had a new generation.
In 2023 and 2025 she claimed the title of European champion and was a medalist at the 2023 World Championship and the 2024 European Championship. In 2025 she became a Master of Sport — a dream she had cherished since childhood.
Karyna never hid her desire to pass on her experience. She studied in her third year at a pedagogical college while already leading her own group of six- and seven-year-olds. Everyone adored her: children, parents, colleagues. Her first competition as a coach was to take place very soon — on her birthday. She will no longer stand beside her young students, will no longer offer last words of guidance to her children…
On the night of the attack, Karyna was at home in Berestyn with her parents. After the first strikes, the family drove away, but later, believing the danger had passed, returned. When new explosions erupted — just dozens of meters from the house — Karyna stood beside her father. Shrapnel from the enemy munition struck them both. Her father was wounded in the leg and chest but survived; perhaps his daughter shielded him with her own body.
Karyna was taken to the hospital unconscious. She opened her eyes only rarely — as if trying to look once more at her home, her loved ones, her Ukraine. But her injuries were critical. The heart of the young athlete stopped on the operating table.
She was a symbol of our youth — talented, raised in love for sport and for Ukraine.
On December 5, 2025, she would have turned only 18.
Blessed be the memory of Karyna Bakhur — an athlete, a champion, a coach, a young Ukrainian who dreamed of great victories but whose life was taken by the barbaric strike of the aggressor.