In the early hours of July 31, 2025, a Russian terrorist missile strike on Kyiv claimed the life of young athlete Matvii Marchenko. One of the rockets struck a multi-story residential building, killing six people. Among them was six-year-old Matvii.
Matvii had a wide range of athletic interests: he practiced karate at the Sen Bin club and trained in water sports at the Bryhantyna Youth Sports School in the Sviatoshynskyi district of the capital. He had been training for a year and a half. His karate coach, Ihor Yefymenko, recalls that Matvii showed remarkable determination for a boy his age. He was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom practiced karate.
Matvii was a favorite in his training group and among older athletes. A kind and open-hearted child, he was the soul of the team. “In the last six months, it was as if he had grown up — he began working hard, with real focus,” his coach said with sorrow. Yefymenko personally came to the scene of the tragedy while rescue operations were still underway.
His family has lost their youngest son. Ukraine has lost an athlete deeply loved by his coaches and teammates. The Ukrainian Karate Federation, the Sen Bin club, the Bryhantyna club, and the entire sports community have expressed their condolences to Matvii’s family.
This tragedy is yet another painful reminder that peaceful Ukrainian cities remain under the crosshairs of Russian terrorists. Civilians continue to die — women, children. Matvii’s death stands as a heartbreaking testament to how Russian aggression steals from Ukraine what is most precious: life, future, dreams.
Eternal memory.