Conscript Kirill Chistyakov was buried in Karelia. His mother Irina had spent two years searching for him at war. She wrote about the death of the young man on her VK page on March 22.
A farewell ceremony for the 19-year-old Kirill Chistyakov took place on April 4 at the Petrozavodsk Cathedral. According to the news outlet 'Ostorozhno, Novosti,' over 70 locals attended the ceremony, despite abnormal precipitation.
Kirill Chistyakov was summoned for compulsory military service in October 2021. In February 2022, he told his mother that he was going to undergo training in Kursk. Later, Irina Chistyakova found out that her son was deployed to the war zone in Ukraine. The woman last spoke to Kirill on March 22. Six days later, the young man went missing.
Irina Chistyakova organized a search for her son and founded the organization 'Sun of Life,' where she published information on the missing military personnel. She was also interviewed by journalist Ekaterina Gordeeva on the episode of the 'Tell Gordeeva' YouTube show, dedicated to mothers of soldiers deployed to Ukraine.
On March 20, 2024, Irina Chistyakova wrote that her son’s remains were identified by DNA. She retrieved them from a morgue in Rostov-on-Don.
"Today, on March 22, 2024, for the last time in my earthly life I will see my beloved son, more specifically, what remains of his body. Only God knows how many remains I have had to see; it is impossible to count. Yet finally He has shown me his grace! Two years of sleepless nights, two years of tears, two years of searching, and that's it!!! That's it! That's it!!! The hell is over for me," wrote Irina on VK.
Photo by 'Ostorozhno, Novosti'
Kirill was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage. The Karelian Military Commissariat refused to discuss the situation with journalists.
Vladimir Putin denied the presence of conscripts undergoing compulsory military service in Ukraine. He insisted that only professional military personnel participated in the war. Later, the Ministry of Defense admitted to the "unfortunate discovery of several instances of conscripts being present at the frontlines."
