At the initiative of the family of the fallen soldier Artem Dymyd, the Ukrainian Catholic University is launching a scholarship fund named after Artem Dymyd. The scholarship will be provided to Plast members who will enter UCU’s bachelor’s and master’s programs. The fund was established in cooperation with the national scout organization Plast and the Ukrainian clothing brand Aviatsia Halychyny.
Artemiy Dymyd, 27, died in the war on June 18, 2022, defending Ukraine from the russian occupiers. He was covered with mortar fire near Donetsk.
Artemiy is the son of Father Mykhailo Dymyd, the first rector of the Lviv Theological Academy (now UCU), chaplain of the Maidan, professor of the UCU, and Ivanka Krypyakevych-Dymyd, a famous icon painter. Great-grandson of the historian Ivan Krypiakevych and of the priest and violinist Artemiy Tsehelsky, who spent seven years in exile in Siberia.
“We have received very sad news. Artemiy Dymyd, the son of our famous priest Mykhailo Dymyd, the first rector of the restored Lviv Theological Academy, and Mrs. Ivanna Krypiakevych-Dymyd, a famous Lviv icon painter, has died in a mortar attack in Donetsk region. On behalf of all our Church, I express my sincere condolences to Father Mykhailo, Pani Ivanka and the whole family of Dymyds and Krypyakevychs on this great loss. This priestly couple, in particular their pain in the current circumstances of Ukraine, is an icon of our Church, which is the center of service to its people and bears the burdens, pains and sufferings of the Ukrainian people and their youth. This heroic death shocked all intellectual circles of Ukraine and today we say: heroes do not die! Please, Lord, take Artemiy into your arms and grant him eternal memory!” wrote His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the UGCC and Grand Chancellor of UCU, on his page.
Artem is a graduate of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Faculty of Humanities, History Program. A member of Plast, pseudo “Kurka”. An active participant in the Revolution of Dignity, he served in the special battalion “Harpoon” and the battalion “Azov”. He was also part of the “Aviatsia Halychyny” team, in particular he was working on the development of the Ukrainian clothing brand.
According to the vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University Natalka Klymovska, the common goal now is to raise $ 75,000 in a permanent fund (endowment), which will generate an Artem Dymyd scholarship and cover the student’s annual tuition costs.
Yuriy Nazaruk, author of the concept of the Ukrainian clothing brand “Aviatsia Halychyny,” who worked in a team with Artem, recalls that Artem Dymyd was very special: “As a country, we once lost a very important thing – the longevity of the tradition of the Ukrainian intelligentsia. And this prevented us from forming a modern Ukrainian nation and state… And in that tradition – patriotism, and education, and values, and culture, and even a willingness to sacrifice on the battlefield. …Artem was so authentic; in him all those things were natural. …Everything was noble and dignified. He was the rare bearer of that Ukrainian core. Of that longevity that is so lacking. And we are losing it again. We were honored to share with you a little of your dignified and incredible life, druzhe Kurka! And today we have the opportunity to testify to your true Knighthood. You already know how to fly well, your angel wings have been flying for a long time. But nevertheless, it hurts a lot,” Yurko Nazaruk, co-owner of the Emotion Holding!! FEST, shared his memories.
According to the Plast Lviv page, Artem joined Plast at the age of 7, Bohdan Khmelnytsky Kurin’ #69. «Participant of regional camps: Legion, Hoverla, KVT. There was no sport in which ‘Kurka’ did not try his hand. He and adrenaline were inseparable words. His life was a continuous adventure. He was fond of military scouting, parachuting, and traveling,” the Plast members write.
On the Maidan he never lost heart, helped others to think positively. He witnessed the events of February 20, 2014 on Institutska Street. In the spring of the same year, at the beginning of the occupation of Crimea, he went to the peninsula to strengthen the pro-Ukrainian forces under the guise of buying a motorcycle. After the start of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, he volunteered for Azov. He took part in the fighting in the area of Shyroke. He was later transferred to a special unit “Harpoon”.
After returning from the ATO, he was actively involved in self-development and travel. He was engaged in parachuting and other extreme activities. He once rode a motorcycle to Iraq. In total, he visited more than 50 countries.
He was in the United States on February 24, 2022 but left for Ukraine immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion. He bought a bulletproof vest and helmet in the US and was wearing his armor on a plane to avoid checking luggage. He told the surprised flight attendant that he was from Ukraine and that he was feeling safer this way. At home he collected the rest of the equipment from the time of ATO, took the oath and immediately went to the front.
You can make a donation to the Artem Dymyd Scholarship Fund at https://supporting.ucu.edu.ua/donate/?order=artem_dymyd