«Memory of You: Our Today» is the story of Yaryna, the beloved girlfriend of the fallen soldier Rostyslav Tereshchenko, call sign «Jerry», operator of the 3rd Sviatoslav Khorobry Special Operations Forces Regiment who died on December 28, 2023 in Avdiivka.
Yaryna and Rostyslav had been together for a little over a year, but these were very short meetings, during his vacations. It seemed like there was still a lot of time ahead for joint plans and dreams. It so happened that Rostyslav had never seen Yaryna in a dress. Now, in this memorable photo shoot, she wore a dress and combed her hair as if she is going to meet him.
On the top shelf in the closet are various clothes of Rostyslav. Only recently did Yaryna put them on a separate shelf. For a whole year after his death, they lay mixed with her things.
When he arrived, Yaryna would take his things out of the closet in advance: in the summer, blue shorts and a T-shirt, and in the cold, his favorite warm sweater.
This sweater was already 10 years old. Rostyslav wore it when he was serving in Azov from 2014 to 2018 and wanted to save it like a talisman that would protect Yaryna while he was gone.
Yaryna doesn’t have Rostyslav’s military belongings, but she does have these boots, which he himself asked to keep as a memento, as if he knew that would happen. He was wearing these boots when they met at the drone control courses. It was then that he asked Yaryna out on a date.
Yaryna thinks that they had very little time together and did not enjoy each other. She often cries when she goes to bed.
In this room, in this place, Rostyslav often packed his backpack. He was getting some new military equipment and preparing to return to the front. No matter what they were very happy in this room.
When Rostyslav died, Yaryna not only lost her lover, but also the ground from under her feet and is now trying to hold on and not fall.
On the shelf with a photo of her beloved is his gift, an illustrated edition of Harry Potter. It has never been opened.
On the dresser are his books, in a box are various trinkets from their life together. Nearby are his things again: gloves, chess, a flag.
For the first time, Yaryna told the world about her relationship with Rostyslav after his death. The joint photos were at home, only for her own, and for others she seemed to be trying to keep this story a secret.
The story of Yaryna and Rostyslav began in the park Dubovy Gai. That day they walked for a long time, talked, and on this bench they kissed for the first time.
On their first date, Rostyslav was wearing exactly the things that Yaryna took to this shooting on this bench. She often comes to this park to this bench to remember the pleasant moments of their first meeting.
During short vacations, Rostyslav always cooked something. The coffee geyser was also his gift, and the spices he used are still in the cabinets.
They liked to drink tea or coffee at this table. Rostyslav never saw the expanded, renovated dining room, where the whole family would gather together at the large family table.
Rostyslav loved animals very much and always paid a lot of attention to Yaryna’s cats, and the dog Dar – in general, there was a mutual love.
Yaryna can smile next to this dog. He radiates confidence and strength, and she learns this from him.
Yaryna now receives the greatest support from her mother and those close to her who share her pain from losing Rostyslav every day. They are also women who have gone through the same pain, for whom Yaryna created a support group back in 2023.
Yaryna thinks about Rostyslav all the time: here he played with the dog, here he chopped wood to heat the house. Here they dreamed of a spring that would never come for him.
Photo: Elena Tita, Text: Elena Tita, Yaryna Herashchenko, 29.03.2025 Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine