A serviceman of the “Azov” Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, participant in the Russo-Ukrainian war, musician and sculptor, athlete and children’s coach. Taras Lavriv gave his life for Ukraine, heroically falling while defending the Mariupol steel plant “Azovstal” from the occupiers.
Taras Lavriv was born on June 6, 1989, in the town of Dolyna, Ivano-Frankivsk region. From childhood, he was a member of the Plast scouting organization, passionate about Cossack history and raised in the spirit of patriotism. He grew into a young man in whom strength met intellect, and art blended with the discipline of a warrior.
He graduated from the Ivan Trush Lviv College of Decorative and Applied Arts, and later from the Lviv National Academy of Arts. Sculpture was his calling: it was Taras who created the monument to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky on Mount Hoshiv.
Taras was also a guitarist in the patriotic band Zalizny Khrest (“Iron Cross”) and performed with the bands Nonsun and Gravitsapa. Together with his wife Yuliia, he created art — painting and tattooing.
After earning his degree as an artist, he passed his knowledge on to children, teaching at the Dolyna Children’s Art School, where he later became director.
Yet Lavriv was not only an artist — he was also an athlete who lived in constant motion. His fascination with martial arts became a lifelong pursuit: he founded a Yoshinkan Aikido school in his hometown, as well as a Bohun School of Combat Hopak. As a coach and mentor, he embodied strength of spirit and honor for his students. He took third place in the All-Ukrainian Free-Fight Tournament in memory of Pavlo Fedoruk (69 kg category) and earned the “Zhovtiak” and “Sokil” ranks in Combat Hopak.
When the full-scale war broke out, Taras did not hesitate. On February 25, 2022, he volunteered to defend Kyiv. He joined the Special Operations Detachment “Azov” Kyiv and took part in battles near the capital. After the liberation of the Kyiv region from Russian occupiers, he set out to help save Mariupol.
His path led to the hottest point of the war — “Azovstal.” There, amidst fire and steel, he carried out a combat mission: delivering weapons, medicines, and supplies, and evacuating the wounded. The operation proved extremely difficult, as the enemy threw immense forces to annihilate the defenders.
On April 10, 2022, Taras was killed by a Russian sniper while performing a combat mission. He was 32. His body was identified only in the autumn. As he had wished, he was cremated in Kyiv, and on October 29, 2022, the ashes of the warrior, artist, and athlete found their rest in his native Dolyna.
For courage and bravery, Taras Lavriv was posthumously awarded the Medal of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine “For Courage in Special Operations” and the distinction “For Merit to the Dolyna Community.” In October 2023, a memorial plaque bearing his name was unveiled on the facade of the art school he once led.