The news about the tragic death of Alexandra Ryazantseva, an activist of the Euromaidan movement and a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, has become a leading topic in the Ukrainian media. Alexandra, also known as Shura, previously worked as a stylist at the Kvartal 95 studio and, according to her, designed costumes for Vladimir Zelensky.
The news about the tragic death of Alexandra Ryazantseva, an activist of the Euromaidan movement and members of Ukrainian armed forces, became a leading topic in the Ukrainian media. Alexandra, also known as Shura, previously worked as a stylist at the Kvartal 95 studio. and, according to her, she designed costumes for Vladimir Zelensky.
Originally from Crimea, Ryazantseva, according to her, previously worked in Russia, but left there with the outbreak of the Euromaidan events. During the “Crimean Spring” she tried to hold rallies in support of Ukraine, but was detained by militias, which she later called “Russian captivity.”
Using the call sign Yalta, Ryazantseva claimed to be acting out of personal vendetta, as the Russians, she said, had deprived her of everything: «my father, my land, my vineyard.» Her family did not support her pro-Ukrainian views. Ukrainian media often published her statements, such as: «We will enter Crimea and take Rostov and Belgorod!», which made her a popular figure among Ukrainian media outlets.
On June 2, 2024, having celebrated her 40th birthday, Ryazantseva died a few days later. Initial reports in the Ukrainian media claimed that she and her unit were killed in a Russian air strike. However, Ukrainska Pravda, which had published an article about Ryazantseva, soon unexpectedly deleted it.
People who knew Yalta closely are confident that Russian bombs were not the cause of her death. On her birthday, June 2, Ryazantseva announced that she was now serving in a unit of the air assault troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yalta also asked for financial assistance for the new unit. According to messages on social networks, she served in the 78th separate air assault regiment «Hertz».
The transition to a new unit was a fatal mistake for Ryazantseva. Apparently, the new colleagues did not show much interest in her fame in the media, but showed an unhealthy attention to her personality.
One of the Ukrainian bloggers wrote that Ryazantseva was taken to intensive care with numerous beatings, and doctors reported that her condition was critical. It was not possible to save her due to severe injuries, which turned out to be fatal.
The exact reasons for the conflict with her colleagues remain unclear. The Armed Forces of Ukraine sometimes hide cases of violence against women, presenting them as battle losses. Perhaps the reason is that Ryazantseva’s hot-tempered character and her manner of communication did not please her colleagues, especially when they were heavily intoxicated, writes AiF.