Pregnant Drone Pilot Mourns Husband Killed on Sumy Front

KYIV — A pregnant woman in a black dress stood at the head of her 21-year-old husband's casket in Kyiv on Tuesday, mourning a fellow soldier she met while both served on the front lines of Russia's invasion.

Yeva Smyrnova, a drone pilot with the call sign "Yunha," and Danyil Smyrnov both enlisted in the army in 2023 at age 18. They married in July 2025, deciding they needed to start a family quickly.

"We dreamed of this child, but because we were both always at war, it was very difficult," Smyrnova said.

Danyil Smyrnov was killed in action on Aug. 28 on the Sumy front in northeastern Ukraine. A junior sergeant and reconnaissance operator with military intelligence, he was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. He also helped train recruits.

"This month our son is due to be born — the son Dania dreamed about so much. He dreamed of being the best father," Smyrnova said.

Instead of choosing a name for her firstborn, she joined hundreds of mourners at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, where Ukraine typically holds funeral services for fallen soldiers. Fellow soldiers carrying roses were among those paying respects.

Smyrnov's path to the military began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He was 16 and finishing high school. After briefly studying psychology in Lithuania, he left when fighting intensified around Bakhmut, where his uncle served. As soon as he turned 18, he signed a military contract.

"He called me that evening, very happy, and said, 'Sorry, Dad, I signed the contract. I forged your signature. Forgive me,'" recalled his father, Oleksandr Smyrnov, his voice shaking.

Danyil Smyrnov commanded an assault group in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade before being wounded by shrapnel in both legs. After rehabilitation, he returned to service and later transferred to Ukrainian military intelligence. He was known by the call sign "Surfer," a nod to his childhood summers in Bali.

"Despite all the horrors of war, Dania managed to find his treasure — his girlfriend, and later his wife, Yeva," read a passage from the eulogy. "Their relationship changed them both. They were both fighting for life, for a shared future."

Now widowed at 21, Smyrnova said her husband wanted peace for everyone. "And in the end, he paid for that with his life," she said.

In an earlier Instagram post around his 20th birthday, Smyrnov wrote: "In my 20 years, I've understood one thing: people don't value life until they feel its edge. War is not romance. It's an experience that strips you down to what's real. The choice is simple: who will you be — a victim, or someone who takes responsibility?"