06 October 2026
(PHOTO: Intent)
On October 6 in Odesa, Captain Oleksiy Sydoruk, who was killed during a Russian attack on a civilian vessel in the Black Sea, was laid to rest. The deceased sailor’s family, friends, and colleagues attended the funeral.
According to an Intenta photojournalist, the funeral service took place at the Church of All Saints in the Tairovsky Cemetery.
Oleksiy Sydoruk was a native of Odesa and had worked as a captain for over 40 years. On the night of September 23, a Russian drone attacked a ship flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda that was carrying sunflower oil. The crew was successfully evacuated, but the captain was killed.
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According to the sailor’s wife, his body could not be recovered immediately after the strike due to the threat of repeat attacks, air raid alerts, and a storm. The rescue operation lasted 11 days.
Colleagues remember Oleksiy Sydoruk as an experienced, courageous, and responsible captain. Vyacheslav Bezpaly, a captain of ocean-going vessels, said they were colleagues.
According to him, during the attack, Sydoruk sent the crew to the engine room while he remained on the bridge, as a captain should. It was there that he was killed when a drone struck the ship.
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Bezpaly also noted that this is already the third funeral for his colleagues from the ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdenne since the start of the full-scale war. He expressed hope that Sidoruk’s death would be the last among Ukrainian sailors.
Another colleague, who had known the deceased for over 20 years and worked with him, described Sydoruk as a true captain—brave, decisive, and a man who always kept his word. He also emphasized that the deceased was a loving husband and father.
As Intent previously reported, the Russian army attacked a foreign commercial cargo ship sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Odesa region. As a result of the strike, Ukrainian citizen Captain Oleksiy Sydoruk was killed.
Ірина Глухова