"I immediately fell in love with his eyes." Ukrainian wife and friend talk about the fallen Belarusian volunteer Vasil "Dzira" Rapitsky

Vasil's wife Sviatlana Rapitskaya told Radio Svaboda that the Belarusian died in the Zaporizhzhia direction on March 4. He was a driver. Rapitsky's car was hit by an FPV drone. His comrade-in-arms was wounded, and Vasil sustained injuries incompatible with life. He was 40 years old.

Sviatlana learned about her husband's death at noon on March 4 — his commander called her. Earlier on March 4, Vasil sent her his last message. Where and when Vasil will be buried is not yet known. Comrades-in-arms have started a fundraiser to help the family of the fallen.

They Met in Crimea

Sviatlana hails from the Zhytomyr region and works as a kindergarten teacher. The Rapitsky family lived in Kyiv. They bought an apartment there. The couple has two sons, aged 9 and 11.

Sviatlana says she met Vasil in July 2012 in Koktebel, in still-unoccupied Crimea. She came there from Kyiv for a vacation, and Vasil came from Belarus. He never returned to his homeland to live after that.

"When I arrived there, my first day of vacation was his last day. He was already leaving the next day. We met in the evening. We had a disco, we danced, we talked. I apparently liked him very much, and he liked me too. The next day he was supposed to leave by car with friends. But he said: 'I'm not going anywhere.' He stayed for me," Sviatlana recalls.

Vasil had already spent his vacation money then. To support himself in Koktebel, he got a job as a security guard at a recreation base, the interviewee continues. That's how they spent Sviatlana's vacation together. Then she returned to Kyiv.

Павялічыць

In August, for the long weekend leading up to Ukraine's Independence Day, the girl again went to Vasil in Crimea, where he continued to work. By September, he came to her in Kyiv. In 2013, the couple got married, at the same time they bought an apartment, and in 2014, their first son was born.

"It happened immediately. There were no long romantic relationships. I immediately fell in love with his eyes, and he with mine. He had very beautiful eyes, he was handsome himself, he danced very beautifully. He was always in a good mood. He was always lively, positive. He had a wonderful character, he was very easy-going," Sviatlana recalls.

She doesn't like surprises, so, she says, Vasil usually didn't make them. But recently, during a heating outage in Ukraine, he ordered a plush jumpsuit for his wife. Once he even chose perfume for Sviatlana himself — he asked a stranger at a gas station what she used, because he liked the scent.

Loved the Village

Vasil loved visiting Sviatlana's parents in the village. There, the whole family would gather and grill kebabs. Sviatlana says he was a village boy.

"All summer there, one had to work around the farm: something in the garden, or go to the forest for firewood, or chop firewood," the interviewee shares.

In the village, Vasil planted a large walnut plantation — he wanted to start a walnut business in retirement, his wife says.

built, and insulated the building," says Sviatlana.

The Rapitsky family went to Vasil's homeland, the village of Proshika in the Krupki district, every year. He himself went even more often. The last time the Rapitskys visited Belarus was for New Year 2022, Sviatlana says. They did not want to move to Belarus permanently.

"He does not support the regime that is currently there," the interviewee explains.

"Everything is Done By His Hands"

Vasil was involved in renovations and construction. At first, he insulated facades, and gradually gained more experience and learned other areas of construction work, his wife says.

"In this apartment that we bought, everything was done by his hands. Whatever he didn't know how to do, he took on, learned, and everything worked out for him," the interviewee says.

Павялічыць

Sviatlana says that Vasil was a wonderful father. Especially with the beginning of the full-scale war, he began to appreciate even more the time he could spend with his family. During his vacations, he suggested going to the sea, or the mountains, or on excursions — "he wanted to show the children a beautiful world."

"He was a wonderful father. Every time I watched him spend time with the children, I realized there was no one else like him. He was the best father whose example I could see. He constantly spent time with them, he did everything for them. He was cheerful. They went to playrooms, to parks. He rode bicycles with them, and his motorcycle. He entertained them greatly," his wife recalls.

Historical War Reenactment

In addition to his passion for motorcycles, Vasil loved searching for treasures with a metal detector.

"He has a small collection of various coins from different periods. They might not be very valuable or in very good condition. But he always rejoiced when he found a nail or a piece of a button," his wife says.

Vasil had another hobby before the war — World War II reenactment.

"It's a role-playing reenactment where conditions are as close as possible to combat, where you have one life. We reenacted the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army, and our opponents were German units. If it was an American paratrooper, he had a summer uniform, a winter uniform, Lucky Strike cigarettes in soft packs, which were common then, the same breakfast, lunch, dinner, the same chewing gum," says Vasil's friend Siarhei Pilipenka, who had known the Belarusian for over 10 years.

"They split into two teams: one was like fascists, and the other — Americans. A game was held: they went out of town, ran somewhere in the fields, changed clothes, with weapons," Sviatlana says. For this reenactment, one had to come up with a call sign. Vasil chose "John Deere" — an American blacksmith who, in 1837, founded a company for manufacturing agricultural and construction machinery.

"Vasia used to say: he is simple and reliable, like a tractor. Whatever he thought of first, he said. But this characterizes Vasil. He was simple, reliable, without excess. He was like a brother to me, one I never had. He was fair, sincere," Siarhei says.

Павялічыць

Later, this call sign was shortened simply to "Dzira." Vasil also took this same call sign to the war.

"I'm Going to Defend My Family"

Vasil went to fight immediately at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He did not have Ukrainian citizenship and was not obliged to go to the front, but he volunteered. They were not eager to take him at first because there were many volunteers, but not many people with military service experience.

"When Kyiv started being bombed in the morning, I called my parents, and they took us to the Zhytomyr region. It was calmer there. But Vasil stayed here. Two or three days later, he found out where the nearest military enlistment office was and went there. He walked along the highway to Sviatoshyn (a suburb of Kyiv. — RS). No transport was running, everyone was leaving Kyiv. The police gave him a ride when they found out where and why he was going," Sviatlana recalls.

Rapitsky served in the Kalinouski Regiment in the "Volat" battalion, then in the Second International Legion, his wife says.

"He always said: 'Who, if not me? Who will defend? I'm going to defend my family.' When they asked him: 'Why are you serving there? You can break the contract at any moment,' he replied: 'What, has the war already ended for me to break the contract?' I understood his motives. He couldn't have done otherwise," his wife says.

Sviatlana did not dissuade her husband from going to war. She says that if it weren't for the children, she herself would have joined the Armed Forces.

"From the first days, he joined 'Azov,' serving as an assault trooper during raids in the Kherson region, then in the Donetsk direction. He had no combat experience, so he had to pursue it, as there were many volunteers but not all were accepted, and Vasia proved himself. Later he was in the 'Volat' battalion until Severodonetsk was lost and their commander was killed," Vasil's friend Siarhei recalls.

Later, Vasil joined the structure of the Main Intelligence Directorate. During the war, he changed various specialties: from assault trooper to ATGM commander — anti-tank defense, and at the end, he served as a driver.

Павялічыць

"I understand that over three years he got very exhausted running through those trenches. Then they moved to another unit, their commander changed because the previous one wasn't satisfactory, and Vasia became a driver. It was a bit easier there, and everything was fine with the command," his wife says.

"He brought guys to and from positions, delivered ammunition, and carried out logistical tasks," his friend adds about Vasil's last military duties.

"How Can I Leave Everything? What about the Guys?"

Recently, Vasil was given leave twice a year, then he would come to Kyiv to his family. Sviatlana also visited her husband at the front, for New Year's or when the children were on vacation and could be left with her parents. Vasil was last home on leave less than a month ago — he went to his positions on February 11. On the phone, they talked about everyday things, about the children.

"I sometimes asked him to talk to the children because they wouldn't listen to me. We communicated daily. 'How was your day?' — 'And yours?' Sometimes we called each other, sometimes we texted, because it was unknown if he was busy. If he was free, he would answer," Sviatlana says.

Павялічыць

With the start of the full-scale war, Sviatlana recounts, Vasil began to switch to Ukrainian — it was a mix with Belarusian; previously, he spoke Russian.

"Vasia was a simple guy. For me, simple guys are a role model. He was one of us. He couldn't pass by if there was a problem. He helped grandmothers, grandfathers, the disadvantaged. A person always ready to sacrifice himself, to help," Siarhei says.

Shortly before his death, Vasil told his friend that at war "it's hell, f***ing started," logistics were complicated, Siarhei recounts.

Павялічыць

"I told him: 'How many years have you been fighting? You've already given this country more than many who were born here and should have sacrificed for it.' And he said: 'Well, how can I leave everything now after I fought? What about the guys? What about the team?' If you started something and didn't finish it, and then returned as if nothing happened — he couldn't do that. He had no pomp. There's a task — we do it. He was simple, reliable, without airs. If he said it, it was a guarantee he'd do it," his friend Siarhei says.

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