Roman Bilytskyi’s life was taken by a Russian artillery strike on 24 September 2024 in Pokrovsk.
“I went there to find out what had happened. The shell hit directly in the yard of his house. Roman’s best friend, Oleksandr, was also killed there — they had been friends since kindergarten,” said his colleague Stanislav Kolotusha.
Roman had turned 33 just two days earlier, on 22 September. He was born and lived in Pokrovsk. For the past eight years, he had worked at Nova Poshta. He started as a loader, then became an intake operator, a scanner, a manager, and eventually the head of the branch.
Roman was sociable and cheerful, yet as a manager he was demanding, fair, and kind. The team often gathered at his place, on the veranda — to grill, talk, and enjoy coffee together. In his free time, Roman liked playing computer games.
During the full-scale invasion, he evacuated his wife and young daughter to Dnipro, while he stayed behind to keep working and ensure his family had money for living expenses and rent.
“In recent months, he kept working more out of a sense of responsibility toward the people of his hometown than for his salary. The situation in the city was becoming more dangerous every day. I spoke to him a few hours before he was killed… He planned to evacuate in a few days. But he didn’t make it. He came home from work and was killed literally an hour later. Roman was an excellent employee,” said territorial manager Stanislav Dobravljanin.
“Roman cared about his colleagues; he led them. He kept up the team spirit. He said he couldn’t imagine leaving his hometown, that he would work until the very last moment…,” added colleague Olha Moiseienko.
“It’s hard without him. Before, I could always ask him something, get advice — now there’s no sense of a friendly shoulder. But I will keep working as long as I can, in part in memory of Roman Bilytskyi,” said Stanislav Kolotusha.
Roman is survived by his wife, daughter, and other relatives.
At 9:00 — the nationwide moment of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the Memorial: Killed by Russia platform honor the residents of Donetsk region killed by Russia.