Yaroslav Levytskyi, former cameraman with Channel 5 and the media agency ACC turned serviceman who had been considered missing since October 2024, was killed in action.
Levytskyi’s friend Volodymyr Popovych confirmed this in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Chernivtsi oblast, Alyona Chorna. He had learned about this from Yaroslav’s family on 8 September.
Popovych says that Yaroslav Levytskyi joined the ranks of the Chernivtsi oblast territorial defense in the very first days of the full-scale war. In late October 2024, he was assigned to a military unit fighting near Pokrovsk (Donetsk oblast). A few days after the assignment, Yaroslav went missing.
“Yaroslav was a very bright, highly intellectual, and positive person. We could never get enough of working with him, that’s how easy and extremely fascinating it was. He always knew how to support or encourage you and had many creative ideas. He worked as a cameraman for many years and then fulfilled his dream by opening Contrabanda Bar, which became very popular among the young people of Chernivtsi,” says the late cameraman’s friend.
ACC chief editor Yana Andrushchak said in a comment to the IMI representative that Yaroslav Levytskyi started out as a cameraman with the then Channel 5 branch in Chernivtsi.
“Cheerful, easy-going, sociable, ever friendly; he could find a common language with anyone. Yaroslav remained in warm, friendly relations with his colleagues even after switching jobs. We were not surprised to learn that Yaroslav enlisted to defend the country in the very first days: this is very him, the patriotism. He is forever remains a part of the media outlet’s history and in the hearts of his colleagues,” Andrushchak added.
Contrabanda Bar, which Yaroslav co-owned, also announced his death in a Facebook post.
“Our Yaroslav is gone, it’s official now. We waited for nearly a year and had faith for the best: we hoped that he was a prisoner somewhere, that he was alive. But, unfortunately, this did not happen. Yesterday, on 8 September, we received confirmation of a DNA match. Yarik… you were a model of courage and light for us. You went where we hesitated and opened the way for others. Your ‘Spirit of Adventure’ hoodie was your credo: you boldly took our hand and stepped into any adventure with a grin. You knew how to live as if every day was a gift, and shared this strength with everyone around you. Your courage, sincerity, and love of life will remain with us forever. You were our friend, brother, inspiration.
“And you will remain in our memories, in our hearts, in the silence that pains us. Eternal memory to you, Yaroslav,” the post says.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, Yaroslav Levytskyi is the 111th media worker to die in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As reported earlier, Starlight Media director of photography turned serviceman, Denys Ponomarenko, was killed in action in Kharkiv oblast on 8 September 2025.
