Thread by @UkrainianMath

KNU: Yula Zdanovska, a talented young mathematician, died during the bombing of Kharkiv. She was a member of the Ukraine EGMO team in 2016 and in 2017, when she was awarded a silver medal. Yula was doing volunteer work, helping people in the hardest days for Kharkiv.

Her last message in Telegram was that she is staying in her city until the victory day. And before the Russian invasion she was teaching children to love math. Rest in peace, Yula. We will never forgive that.

George Shevchenko: My heart breaks — Yuliya Zdanowska, my former (although everything is former for her now) student, colleague from summer schools, rock climbing friend, was killed that night. She was only 21 years old.

Arsenii Nikolaiev: May you burn in hell, you russists!!! Yulia Zdanovska -- a girl who performed at many Olympiads, taught children, volunteered a lot. A student of my age. A friend of mine. Killed by a rocket in Kharkiv. I've known her since school (studied together at UFML).

She basically found the IT branch of club "Quanta" for kids from Kyiv to learn programming and maths. She has basically dedicated most of her life to volunteering, education and kids.

Bogdan Rublyov: It is very difficult to find words about Yulia, we remember her bright personality, honesty, decency. I recall how she ranked 12th in the All-Ukrainian Olympiad and had made to the selection for the International Olympiad, which everyone dreams of.

For one problem she had 7 points. Then she said that there is a mistake: according to the criteria she scored only 5. Her score dropped and became the 13th and did make to selections. She is now in the sky where she will defend Ukraine, as she did all her short but bright life…

Helene Vinnik:
Our beautiful red sunshine Yulia Zdanowska.
We have always been proud of you and will be proud forever!
You have always been loved by all of your family, friends and even just acquaintances, and will be loved forever!

I spent so little time with you because when you were 14 you were invited to Kyiv to study at UFML school at KNU. I used to talk to you on the phone, even during the school breaks you didn't always come home. Why? Because Olympiads were held during the breaks.

You were torn between math and computer science. Maybe that's why you sometimes took not the first, but the second place at Olympiads. The brightest of them was your team's victory over the Russians in EGMO-2017 - team first place and your personal silver medal.

Over the short years of studying and participating in the Olympic Mathematical Movement, you have visited all over the country more than I have in my entire life.
Everyone thought you would become a scientist. But you had a completely different dream.

You wanted to change school education in Ukraine so that children in every corner of Ukraine could receive the same quality education as in the best schools in the capital, and so that lessons will be enjoyable by all children. Last year, when you received a bachelor's degree...

... in CS from KNU people wished you could go on to become a Harvard professor. I remember your answer very well: "I don't want to be a professor and I don't want to be at Harvard, but I would agree to be the Minister of Education of Ukraine."

And you didn't continue with the Master’s program at KNU, which everyone was expecting you to do. Instead you went to teach informatics and mathematics in a small village in the Dnipropetrovsk region, along with a cohort of enthusiasts --- from the program Teach for Ukraine.

You could never be stopped, you always did what you thought was right. You made very few mistakes. And now you won't make any anymore…

You chose the most peaceful profession on earth - a teacher. And when the war started, you were completely restless at your home for two days, because you wanted to protect your country and your native Kharkiv, but using weapons was probably the only thing you didn’t know how.

On the third day of the war, in the morning, you saw an announcement that the Kharkiv region defense headquarters needed non-military volunteers. You didn’t listen to anyone, you did what you though twas right and volunteered. You consciously stayed in your hometown,...

... where you visited to see your family two days before the war broke out. You wanted to be useful, you wanted to do what is in your power for our victory.
Every night you told me you were OK and that you are back to the shelter with other volunteers.

On March 3, at 18:41 you messaged a friend that you are doing great and you are volunteering. And at 18:43 the connection with you was broken forever. The next day we learned that russian orcs attacked a group of volunteers with a rocket, at the heart of our beloved Kharkiv...

Your life was short and bright. I'm sure this flash will continue to shine for many people.
But I don't understand how I'm going to live without you because it's been a week and I'm looking at the clock every night waiting for your phone call…

Burn in hell to those who came to destroy our people, our talented youth, our future! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! Death to the enemy!