"Vitalii was so looking forward to meeting her": Wife of volunteer killed in Luhansk gives birth to their daughter
Nataliia is the wife of Vitalii Kyrkach-Antonenko, a volunteer who was killed in Luhansk Oblast on 9 November 2022, when Nataliia was three months pregnant.
Now Nataliia has announced on Facebook that she gave birth to a daughter on the night of 18-19 May.
"Everyone who knows my husband, Vitalii Kyrkach-Antonenko, please congratulate him on becoming a father. Anyone in Sloviansk, visit him and leave Vitasyk some flowers.
He will never be able to hug his little daughter, but Vitalii was looking forward to meeting her so much. We dreamed about this day together and imagined our joy and pride when we could hold our firstborn in our arms," she wrote on Facebook.
Many people took to social media to congratulate the new mother and her newborn baby, who was named Vitalina, no doubt in honour of her father.
Nataliia also thanked everyone for the support and care she has experienced over the past six months since the death of her husband.
On 17 November, after her husband's funeral, she posted a heartbreaking message to say that their baby was alive and her pregnancy was continuing.
"You are alive, our little daughter! The doctors have confirmed that you have come through this pain. Your father, Vitalii Kyrkach-Antonenko, is proud of you. I can already see that you are just like your daddy. You are strong and brave and love life as much as he did," she said.
Nataliia also added that her daughter would be "an incredibly strong person".
"Before he went back to the war to defend us, your father saw you kicking in my tummy and putting your tiny finger to your mouth. He was so happy. He dreamed of raising you and spoiling you. But this terrible war took him from us five days later," the deceased volunteer’s wife said.
Nataliia and Vitalii lived in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast. Before the full-scale invasion, they produced exclusive jewellery, handmade from porcelain and clay, in their studio.
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