The Glodan family’s story encapsulates the profound human cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where a single missile strike erased three generations before claiming a fourth life on the battlefield. On the eve of Orthodox Easter in 2022, as Valeria and Yuriy Glodan prepared celebrations with their infant daughter Kira in Odesa, a Russian missile destroyed their apartment, instantly killing three-month-old Kira, 28-year-old Valeria, and her 54-year-old mother Lyudmyla.
This tragedy, which sparked international outrage, represents one among countless others in the four-year conflict. According to UN estimates, over 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have perished since the invasion began, with actual numbers believed to be significantly higher when combined with military casualties.
Yuriy’s subsequent journey from grieving husband to fallen soldier completed the family’s devastation. After joining Ukraine’s armed forces, he was killed in September 2023 during the brutal Battle of Bakhmut, one of the war’s deadliest engagements. The family now rests divided in Avangard cemetery—Kira, Valeria, and Lyudmyla on one side of a pathway, Yuriy facing them from the other.
Nina Glodan, Yuriy’s mother, describes existing in perpetual April 2022: “We’re still living in that month. And we haven’t moved past it.” Family photographs reveal a picture-perfect life—wedding celebrations, romantic trips to Rome, and joyful images of wide-eyed Kira. Friends remember Valeria as radiating sunshine with an infectious laugh, deeply connected to Odesa’s culture and opera.
Yuriy’s army comrade Dmytro Gudz recalled how the tragedy hollowed him: “He was empty inside.” After intensive training with Ukraine’s elite third assault unit, Yuriy fell during an assault near Andriivka, reportedly killed by an enemy drone. His funeral coincided symbolically with the invasion’s second anniversary on February 24, 2024, closing a devastating chapter that began with Easter preparations and ended in ultimate sacrifice.