10-year-old boy climbs Ukraine’s tallest statue to send letter to his father killed in missile attack

A 10-year-old son of a fallen Ukrainian soldier climbed to Ukraine's tallest statue of Mother Ukraine in Kyiv to send him "a letter to heaven", the linked National History Museum says in its press release.

Ivan and his six-year-old sister Sofia lost their father last spring. Soldier Oleksandr Yarmolenko died in a Russian missile strike on the Desna training center on May 17, 2022.

Children believe that their dad is in heaven, and to deliver a letter to him, it is necessary to send it from the highest possible point – the monument "Mother Ukraine," about which dad once told little Ivan, the press release says.

Ivan's father promised him that they would climb the monument together when the boy grows up, as only adults can climb to the highest point of the statue.

To fulfill Ivan's dream, the organization of Ukrainian widows turned to the War Museum. The general director of the museum, Yurii Savchuk, responded and made an exception to the rule for the boy. He also personally arranged for Ivan to climb the monument.

Climbing the observation deck located on the statue's shield at an altitude of 92 meters, Ivan read a letter to his father. And then – launched it into the sky with balloons.