1994–2014
Sviatoslav Horbenko
Volunteer “cyborg”, Hero of Ukraine
A student of Japanese who spoke fluent English and read Polish volunteered at 19 to defend Donetsk airport. Sviatoslav Horbenko, call sign “Skeld”, was killed while rescuing a wounded comrade. Hero of Ukraine, posthumously, 2021.
Key accomplishments
- Finished the Ivan Kotliarevskyi Lyceum in Poltava at 15; studied in Kharkiv, and from April 2014 Japanese at the Institute of Philology of Kyiv University
- Took part in the Revolution of Dignity as a member of the Kharkiv self-defence
- In summer 2014 passed the university military-training exams for the rank of junior lieutenant; in August volunteered for the 5th Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps “Right Sector”
- Defended Donetsk airport from the end of September 2014
- Order for Courage, 3rd class (decree No. 97/2021 of 12 March 2021, posthumously)
- Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Gold Star (decree No. 449/2021 of 28 August 2021, posthumously)
Four languages and one war
Did you know that one of the “cyborgs” of Donetsk airport was a student of Japanese? Sviatoslav Horbenko spoke fluent English, could get by in French, read Polish and was learning Japanese. He went to the front at 19.
Sviatoslav was born on 26 December 1994 in Poltava. He finished the Ivan Kotliarevskyi Lyceum at 15, then studied in Kharkiv - philology at the pedagogical university and, by correspondence, history at Karazin University. In November 2012 he spoke at an all-Ukrainian conference on Japanese studies, with a paper on the culture of bowing and apologies in Japanese society. In the winter of 2013-2014 he took part in the Revolution of Dignity and joined the self-defence of the Kharkiv Euromaidan. At the height of the Maidan he also did his teaching practice with class 9-A at Kharkiv School No. 99, taught ten lessons and left his pupils a letter saying that each of them would become a worthy person. In spring 2014, when Maidan activists in Kharkiv faced threats and persecution, he transferred to Kyiv to study Japanese at the Institute of Philology of Taras Shevchenko University.
The volunteer “Skeld”
While still a student, in summer 2014, Sviatoslav passed his university military-training exams for the rank of junior lieutenant, and on 17 August, leaving his parents only a letter, he went to the Desna training centre and signed up as a volunteer for the 5th Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps “Right Sector”. He took his call sign from his favourite film, The 13th Warrior, about a band of Vikings: one of its thirteen heroes is called Skeld. From the end of September he fought at Donetsk airport; Serhii Tabala, who also defended the airport, came from the same 5th Battalion.
On 3 October 2014, during the fighting for the airport, Sviatoslav and a comrade were carrying out the wounded. Sviatoslav Horbenko was killed that day at Donetsk airport while rescuing a wounded friend. He was 19. He is buried in Kyiv, at Berkovets Cemetery.
Why it matters today
Sviatoslav Horbenko was a student who spoke several languages and was learning Japanese, and at the same time one of the “cyborgs” of Donetsk airport. At the airport he did more than hold the line: he carried the wounded to safety. He showed that learning and courage don’t pull in different directions: you can love scholarship and still stand up for your country. A scholarship for students of Japanese at his institute and, since 2024, a street in Poltava bear his name, and the bard Sviatoslav Boiko dedicated the song “The 13th Warrior” to him.
