Oksana Shvets
Revered Ukrainian actress Oksana Shvets has been killed in a Russian rocket attack on a residential building in Kiev, according to the Young Theatre, where she was part of the troupe. She was reportedly 67. Confirming the demise of Oksana, her troupe issued a statement that read, “During the rocket shelling of a residential building in Kyiv, a well-deserved artist of Ukraine Oksana Shvets was killed.”
Basing its report on ‘Kyiv Post’, the English-language daily published from the Ukrainian capital, ‘Deadline’ said that Shvets worked in theatre and film for decades and her efforts garnered one of Ukraine’s highest honours, the title of which roughly translates as ‘Honoured Artiste of Ukraine’.
The honour is only bestowed upon those among the country’s most accomplished performing artistes. In its announcement, the Young Theatre expressed “irreparable grief” at Shvets’s passing, before describing how the actress died.
Shvets was born on February 10, 1955. She graduated from the theatre studio at the Ivan Franko Theatre and the Kiev State Institute of Theatre Arts. In addition to her time with the Young Theatre, Shvets had worked at the Ternopil Music and Drama Theatre and the Kiev Theatre of Satire.
On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, almost 600 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
(Inputs by agencies)
