Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Artyom Datsishin death: Ukrainian ballet star succumbs to injuries from Russian shelling, aged 43

Ballet dancer’s friends and colleagues have expressed their ‘unbearable pain’

Inga Parkel
Friday 18 March 2022 17:56 GMT
President Zelensky speaks about priorities for Russia-Ukraine talks
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ukrainian ballet star Artyom Datsishin has died three weeks after he sustained injuries from Russian shellings in Kyiv. He was 43.

Datsishin’s death was announced by his friend Tatiana Borokiv, who shared her grief in a post on Facebook.

“May your memory be bright,” she wrote.

The internationally renowned dancer was a former soloist at the National Opera of Ukraine, where he performed the lead in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty.

His death has sparked anger in the arts world. According to the Evening Standard, Russian-American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky is “furious” over the loss and described his “unbearable pain”.

Anatoly Solovyanenko, chief stage director at the National Opera of Ukraine, called Datsishin “a beautiful artist” and “a wonderful man” in a Facebook post.

Datsishin’s death follows that of Ukrainian actor, Oksana Shvets, who died aged 67 in a Russian rocket attack.

Read updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict here.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in