Ukrainian opera singer dies fighting in the Donbas
Opera singer Vasyl Slipak was killed in the Donbas region, as reported by a representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe, Dmitry Kuleba, on Twitter.
"Vasyl Slipak, the Ukrainian opera singer, who left the French Opera in order to protect Ukraine, was killed in eastern Ukraine," he wrote. Journalist Yuri Butusov reported on his Facebook page that Slipak died in the Donetsk district.
"He chose the pseudonym ‘Myth.’ It was shortened from Mephistopheles from the opera Faust. He was not a professional soldier, he was a singer...Vasyl Slipak died as a soldier. He will be written about in books, streets will be named for him, concerts will be held and he will be talked about in schools and conservatories," Butusov wrote.
Vasyl Slipak was born in the Lviv region. In 1997 he graduated from the Lviv Music Academy named after Lysenko. After graduation he was invited to the Paris Opera. After 19 years of working in France, he returned to the Ukraine and went to the Donbas region.
Armed confrontations between Ukrainian security forces and separatists of the self-proclaimed republics of the Donbas region have been ongoing since April, 2014. According to the latest UN data, since the start of the conflict in the Donbas 9,371 people have died and 21,523 people have been wounded.