Ihor Ihorovych Kostenko was a Ukrainian journalist, student activist and Wikipedian killed during the Euromaidan events.
Biography
Kostenko was born in Zubrets, Buchach Raion. He was raised by his grandparents, as his parents worked primarily in Saint Petersburg. As a child he attended Saint Josaphat Buchatskiy, a Ukrainian Catholicparochial school in Buchach. He had one sister, Inna. Kostenko received his bachelor's degree in 2013 and was a first-year graduate student in geography at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, in Western Ukraine. His thesis was the development of the tourism industry in Buchach. He also worked as a journalist for the online edition of the sports website Sportanalitika. He was also a regular contributor to the Ukrainian Wikipedia under the nickname :uk:User:Ig2000|Ig2000, creating more than 280 articles on aviation, economics, football and other subjects. :uk:Незаможник |Kostenko's article on the Soviet destroyer Nezamozhnik was recognised with the "Good Article" rating.
Death
Kostenko went to Kiev on 18 February to take part in the Euromaidan demonstrations, the pro-Western movement that broke out after Ukraine's government refused to ratify its earlier decision to join the European Union. He joined other friends from Lviv in building barricades to protect the protesters. The confrontation between protesters and police worsened in the late hours of 19 February, and snipers began shooting at demonstrators. On 20 February 2014, Kostenko's body was found on the street, near the October Palace. He had gunshot wounds to the head and heart, and multiple fractures to his legs. The day after his death, Kostenko's friend Yuriy Muryn recalled his last communications with Kostenko. "He just called me yesterday and I didn't hear it ring. I called him back today and he didn't answer. I just can't comprehend it," Muryn said. "And during the first riots on Hrushevskoho he sent me his girlfriend's phone number, saying: 'Tell her that I love her, if something happens.' I thought he was joking, but when riots broke out again, he asked: 'Do you remember about my request?'" On 22 February, a procession of hundreds of people followed his hearse taking Kostenko from Kiev to Lviv for his funeral. More than 500 mourners held a candlelight vigil in Ternopil. Kostenko and six other victims from Euromaidan were mourned 23 February at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv.
