In memory of the television operator Ruslan Hanushchak.
From the very first days of the full-scale war, Ruslan Hanushchak filmed frontline stories, and with the onset of the Kharkiv offensive, he donned a military uniform and joined the 92nd Brigade.
03 Ruslan's close friend, correspondent Andriy Tsapliyenko, shared in a television segment about the Hero's journey and how the cameraman and documentarian from the TSN team put down his camera to join the fight.
04 The oldest American program "60 Minutes" filmed a segment about journalists working in war zones, featuring Ruslan as one of the subjects.
"I was used to working behind the camera, capturing all the events happening off-screen. But now I have the opportunity to be a direct participant and feel everything that the heroes of my stories and films experienced," the man stated.
Andriy recalls that he and Ruslan came under fire together.
"We documented Russian war crimes. We searched for points where the occupiers broke through the Ukrainian border. He saved my life and the lives of other colleagues when he was the first to hear the whistle of a missile and shouted 'Get down!'", the man recounts.
05 "They were cluster munitions. Everything around us was exploding. Everyone immediately lay down at the command," Ruslan remembered.
In reality, his war began not in February 2022, but much earlier. Serhiy Nihoyan was the first victim of the shootings on Maidan. At that time, Ruslan filmed footage of Nihoyan for 1+1. He is also the creator of the video capturing the moment of the murder of two Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred — Ihor Dmytriv and Andriy Dyhdalovych, as well as the evacuation of the wounded and deceased heroes to the "Ukraine" hotel. His camera lens caught special forces shooting from behind a trash barricade.
06 All these materials were handed over by Ruslan to the Prosecutor General's Office and are being used as evidence during pre-trial investigations and in courts regarding crimes committed during the Revolution of Dignity. Ruslan himself also testified as a witness in the Maidan cases.
"And this was our first meeting with him. In Mariupol. Exactly ten years ago. Ruslan Hanushchak was the press officer of the then-battalion 'Azov'," Andriy recalls.
07 "Two Days in Ilovaisk" and "Brother for Brother" are films by Ruslan, shot with the 'Azov' fighters, which were shown in the West, breaking the information blockade and beginning to dismantle the myth created by Russian propaganda about Nazis in 'Azov'.
He believed he had done too little for Ukraine, and on the eve of the Kharkiv offensive, in September 2022, he decided he needed to return to the military. While liberating Kharkiv region, the 92nd Brigade moved forward, and Ruslan went along with them.
08 Eventually, he joined the unit he called his second family — the strike drone systems division "CODE 9.2". In this unit, he took the wheel of an armored SUV, driving drone operators to their positions every day. He did everything in his power to ensure that the number of trips to the front matched the number of returns.
Ruslan's commander was a hero of one of the television segments.
"I met Ruslan in 2022 when you came to us for an interview. He was a very exceptional person. There was always something to talk about with him. And when he joined our unit, I invited him for coffee. He was a great guy, honestly," says Vladislav, a serviceman from the "CODE 9.2" unit.
09 "Whenever I made coffee — it was just okay for me, but for him, he would say, 'To Victory!' He constantly said this. He always talked about how Victory would come and that it would be our Victory," says another comrade of Ruslan, Ihor.
With the "CODE 9.2" unit, Ruslan entered the territory of the Kursk region.
"You know, he really needed this, just like everyone in our unit, because we gathered here for a reason," military personnel Vladislav states.
"Always just words about Victory, that everything will be fine and everything will end soon," Ihor adds.
10 Ruslan died as a result of an enemy FPV drone attack.
"At first, one FPV drone came, we suppressed it with electronic warfare, then another came, we suppressed it too. A third FPV drone came and hit the back of their vehicle," Alexander recounts.
This young man, a serviceman from the "CODE 9.2" unit and an operator of the "Vampir" drone, was near Ruslan that day.
"I saw it all, how Ruslan's 'Hummer' exploded. I couldn't gather my thoughts. I couldn't even give a command," his comrade says.
11 On that terrible day, Ruslan was not the only one who died in the Kursk region.
"They were wonderful people. Each of them was a remarkable individual. After losing close friends, I realize that I am doing everything right," Alexander states.
"We must take revenge for them. That should be the mindset. They wanted something, and they should get it because we didn't start it," Ihor adds.
12 Andriy Tsapliyenko emphasizes in the television segment: "This damned war takes the best. But only thanks to bright and talented individuals like Ruslan, our country can preserve a chance for the future. Therefore, someone must continue their mission."
And Ruslan himself said: "We must live as long as we are meant to. Whether you are surprised or not. If you have a mission to fulfill in this life, it doesn't matter whether you take risks or not."
13 At Independence Square, farewell was said to soldier Ruslan Hanushchak / Photo: Kyrylo Chubotin, Ukrinform 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The farewell ceremony for the soldier took place on January 18, 2025, at Independence Square. Ruslan Hanushchak was 54 years old, and he is survived by his wife Oleksandra and daughter Iryna.
"I remember my dad as an extraordinarily kind, caring, and vibrant man. He lived his life as brightly as he could," said Iryna.
"Ruslan is, first and foremost, about honor, dignity, courage, bravery, risk, and determination," said his friend Yaroslav Bondarenko.
On January 21, the fallen warrior was farewelled in Ivano-Frankivsk. The city echoed with trumpets and a film about the deceased, created in memory of his father by his daughter, was shown.
31 In Frankivsk, farewell was said to military photographer Ruslan Hanushchak / Photo: Yuriy Rylchuk, Ukrinform 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 <