Sometimes war hits just a little too close to the heart. Nikolai Berezovoi, husband of journalist Tetyana Chornovol, was killed during fighting against the separatists rebels in Donetsk yesterday. He loved God, his family and his country. A leader to those around him in the Ukrainian Army, he was a man of courage. He was killed while trying to pull a wounded brother soldier to safety under heavy fire.
Berezovi, 37, was fighting with the “Azov” battalion, acording to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. The Azov battalion is a volunteer group working for the Interior Ministry. Berezovy was killed by a sniper’s bullet as his unit was battling pro-Russian rebels in teh Ukrainian town of Ilovaisk, approximately 30 miles southeast of Donetsk.
Berezovi, formerly led the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) party. He was a close ally to Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv (Kiev).
His young widow is one of the bravest and most daring journalists in the eastern European theater. She was badly beaten and left for dead in the freezing snow by her attackers this past December, during the massive Kyiv demonstations. Her crime: writing the truth about a corrupt president and government.
Today, she is a widow, and their two young children have lost a loving father. May God grant comfort to Tetyana and the children, and may God have mercy on the soul of His servant Nikolai. Grant him rest, peace, pardon from sin, and may his memory be eternal, O Lord.