Pregnant Ukrainian soldier who met her husband fighting in Russia’s full-scale invasion becomes a widow at 21 after he was killed in action
A 21-year-old Ukrainian soldier, Yeva Smyrnova, has been widowed while eight months pregnant after her husband, Junior Sergeant Danyil Smyrnov, was killed alongside three other soldiers on the Sumy front in northeastern Ukraine on 28 August. The couple had met when they both joined the army aged 18 in 2023 and married in July 2025, choosing to start a family despite the dangers of their frontline roles. His death highlights the personal toll of Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion on young Ukrainians who came of age during the war.
Smyrnov, known by the call sign "Surfer", was 16 and still at school when the invasion began in February 2022; he later dropped out of a psychology degree in Lithuania to enlist as soon as he turned 18. He served as a reconnaissance operator with the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, was wounded by shrapnel before transferring to military intelligence, and documented his experiences to over 40,000 Instagram followers. His funeral took place at St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on 3 September, attended by hundreds including fellow soldiers, while his widow, a drone pilot known as "Yunha", said their son is due in a few weeks.
- Ukrainian soldier Danyil Smyrnov, 21, killed on Sumy front, 28 August
- Wife Yeva Smyrnova, 21, is eight months pregnant with their son
- Couple met and married in the army; funeral held in Kyiv, 3 September
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Yeva and Danyil Smyrnov were both 18 when they signed up to fight after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. They met while serving, married in July 2025, and decided to have a child together despite both continuing to serve on the front line, she as a drone pilot and he in reconnaissance and military intelligence.
Fighting has continued along Ukraine's eastern and northern borders since 2022, including the Sumy region in the country's north-east, where large numbers of young Ukrainians who came of age during the war have been drawn into military service. Danyil, who had left university to enlist, built a public following documenting his experiences as a soldier.
His death illustrates the wider human cost the war has had on a generation of young Ukrainians whose adult lives have been shaped almost entirely by the conflict, including couples who have started families while serving on active duty.