A pregnant Ukrainian soldier has mourned her 21-year-old husband at his funeral in Kyiv after he was killed on the Sumy front in north-eastern Ukraine.
Junior sergeant Danyil Smyrnov died on August 28 alongside three other soldiers serving with Ukrainian military intelligence. He was a reconnaissance operator who also helped train recruits.
His widow, Yeva Smyrnova, is a drone pilot known by the call sign “Yunha”. Their first child, a son, is due to be born this month.
The couple joined the Ukrainian army in 2023, when they were both 18, and married in July 2025. Smyrnova said they had dreamed of having a child but that military service had made it difficult.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Kyiv’s St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, where services are regularly held for Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war. Fellow servicemen carried roses as they paid their respects.
Smyrnov had previously commanded an assault group in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. After being wounded by shrapnel in both legs, he underwent rehabilitation and returned to service before later transferring to military intelligence.
His father, Oleksandr Smyrnov, recalled that his son had signed a military contract as soon as he turned 18. The family said they took some comfort from the arrival of the grandson Danyil had hoped to raise.
In the days after his death, Smyrnova wrote online that their son would be “his continuation”.
She said her husband had wanted people in Ukraine to live in peace, adding that he had ultimately paid for that hope with his life.
