"TREIN"

Denys “Trein” Babii was a fan of the “Nyva” (Vinnytsia) football club and a representative of the “Sportowia” collective. Denys Oleksandrovych Babii was born on July 5, 1993, in the village of Salkove (Kirovohrad Region), where he studied at the local secondary school. In 2001, his family moved to Vinnytsia, where he continued his education at School No. 29. After graduating, he entered the O. S. Popov Odesa National Academy of Telecommunications. He practiced contact sports, including boxing and free-fight. According to his relatives, from an early age he was very independent, striving to solve any issues—whether related to studies or other life circumstances—on his own. He had a talent for drawing, which later led him to become interested in tattooing and graffiti. From 2008, he began attending the fan sector of Vinnytsia’s “Nyva.” Because of his love for traveling by train, he received the call sign “Trein.” He later became one of the leaders of the local supporters’ movement. Over the years of active support for the club—both in stadiums and beyond—he was connected with several football-hooligan collectives that appeared and disappeared in the city. He began his fan path with the ultras movement “Greenadiers,” followed by “Kolektyv” and “Sportowia”—each leaving its mark in the history of Vinnytsia’s fan movement. He took part in many high-profile football-related events. On December 1, 2013, together with other Vinnytsia fans, “Trein” participated in the protests on Bankova Street in Kyiv. He later took part in the key events of the Maidan. In those days, representatives of the Vinnytsia movement were active participants in resistance to the criminal authorities both in the capital and in their home city. After the war began in the East, he organized and delivered humanitarian aid to Donbas and also helped families who had lost loved ones on the Maidan. “Trein” devoted a great deal of time to working with youth. He was involved in patriotic education and led the Vinnytsia branch of the “Centuriia” organization, which included the youngest members of the Azov movement. He practiced shooting and later became an instructor in firearms training. In 2017, he initiated the evacuation of people during the explosions at the ammunition depots in Kalynivka. In those years, Denys’s name was associated with numerous anti-corruption and other socially beneficial initiatives in the city. People from various circles of the city’s political and civic life expressed respect and support for him. In the autumn of 2019, Denys married his beloved Ivanna, whom he had been dating since 2013. “It was the kind of love they write about in books and make films about,” she recalled. The couple had many plans for the future. Denys managed a tattoo studio, which became a place of creative inspiration for him and his friends. He lived a life full of adventure—travel, rafting trips, and hikes. In the first days of the full-scale war, Denys, together with a group of representatives of the Vinnytsia movement, went to defend the capital. After joining TRO “Azov-Kyiv,” he immediately became a platoon commander. During the defense of Kyiv, he took command of a company during one of the key battles in this sector of the front—near the village of Moshchun. In large part thanks to the efforts of his company, the enemy advance was stopped and the capital was held. After the liberation of the Kyiv region, “Trein” took part in an attempt to relieve the siege of Mariupol. As part of the newly formed 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, he and his fighters operated effectively on the Zaporizhzhia front. He commanded an infantry company during the Bakhmut campaign. Denys Babii was killed on April 21, 2023, defending the city of Bakhmut, after sustaining injuries incompatible with life. A month and a half after Denys’s death, his daughter Solomiia was born. He had been eagerly awaiting her birth, dreaming of ending the war with victory so that all Ukrainian children would have a peaceful future. Farewell was held for Denys at his home stadium, “Khimik,” in the very sector where he and his friends had supported “Nyva” for years. He was laid to rest on the Heroes’ Alley at the Sabariv Cemetery in Vinnytsia. On August 25, 2023, Denys Babii was awarded the title “For Merits to Vinnytsia Region.” In the autumn of the same year, the former Verkharnа Street, where Denys once lived, was renamed in his honor.