Yaroslav “Varnak” Ivanov, a young Ukrainian musician, writer and soldier serving in a separate electronic warfare unit, was killed while carrying out a combat mission on the front line. Ivanov died on May 31, according to his close friend, volunteer Kateryna Pylypchuk. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Known online by his X handle @radykalniy, Ivanov had built a following for his sharp wartime humor, reflections from the front and creative work. Friends and fellow soldiers remembered him as direct, sincere and deeply devoted to Ukraine. In one post, Ivanov joked about his own death with the dark humor that had become part of his public voice. “Know this: when I die, if any of you whines about me, I will launch FPV drones at you in your dreams, and you will spend the whole dream running from them in horror. No electronic warfare will help you,” he wrote. “Just try writing something like, ‘He was so young, God, a child, he should have started a family, what a great loss for Ukraine,’” he added. A soldier, musician and writer Ivanov joined the Ukrainian military at the age of 19, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Alongside his front-line service, Ivanov continued to write music and prose. He completed a manuscript for his first book and had already begun work on a second. Ukrainian writer and musician Yevhen Lir said Ivanov’s debut book was conceived as a fictionalized diary about personal growth.