Ukrainian Pro CS:GO Player “0ni” Dies While Defending Country From Russian Invasion

With every passing day as the Russo-Ukrainian war rages on it continues to claim more and more lives. And in the latest series of clashes another esports player with a bright future ahead of him has died because of that conflict. The deceased Ostap “0ni” Onistrat was a Ukrainian CS:GO pro player. He was signed with a Ukrainian esports team before the start of the war.

Ostap’s death was announced by his father in a Facebook post. His father Andrei Onistrat, who is a famous investment banker, wrote,

My little hedgehog.. You are not there no more. Time has stood still. A year of service the day before yesterday. 22 years in a month.”

Ostap was reportedly killed on the 1st of June while being part of the 68th brigade of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces. His death hit the gaming community hard because of his young age. According to his profile on HLTV, Ostap was just 21 years old at the time of his death. According to the reports in Ukrainian media, Ostap’s brigade was spearheading the Ukrainian attack on the Vuhledar front, southwest of the city of Donetsk. 

Ostap was taking part in the attack as well. But unfortunately, he found himself in the thick of it and was killed on the 1st of June while fighting on the frontline. Ostap was a very promising CS:GO, player. He had been part of the game’s pro league for several years. His last appearance in a professional CS:GO tournament was in 2021 when he took part in ZUEL Championship 2021 as a part of LIBERTATEM, a Ukrainian esports team. 

He finished second in the whole tournament. After that Ostap apparently went back to his country and within a few months of it Russia invaded Ukraine. This prompted a sense of national duty in him and despite his young age, he decided to join the Ukrainian army for the defense of his country. Upon the announcement of his death, tributes from the gaming community poured in for his bravery.

Many people showed outrage and disappointment in the senseless war and wished it would end soon. Perhaps the most heartbreaking and truest tribute to Ostap was from his father, who wrote,

When Ostap was little he was very careful. Lately, we often talked at night about war, about victims, and he asked me how in ordinary life people walk around and live with the thought that people are dying here in the east. And he told me – and why wasn’t I there, in the stêlkotní. Like dad I didn’t have the answer to that question. I didn’t know what to say. He was out looking for a tank the day before yesterday. He really wanted to destroy the tank on his anniversary. Tonight was upset that it didn’t work out. The last time he came home – he has changed a lot. Kids got him stuck on all sides.. I felt what I wanted to see for a long time – mutual love. He is a brave hero and a real man.”

This is not the only casualty of a gaming prodigy in this senseless war. Last year in October a famous Ukrainian animator was killed in the fighting. Moreover, two months later in December, another tragedy hit the gaming community when a dev of the famous S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series was killed while fighting the Russians in Bakhmut.