Ruslana Ihorivna Pysanka (; 17 November 1965 – 19 July 2022) was a Ukrainian actress and cinematographer. She hosted several television shows, and appeared in international films. Pysanka became known as a lead presenter of the weather forecast on the Inter channel.

Life and career

Pysanka was born in Kyiv on 17 November 1965, the daughter of the Soviet cinematographer Ihor Pysanko. She studied directing in the Kyiv State Institute of Culture, where she graduated as a television director. She participated in the television program ''Women's Club''. She was

TV anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

on different national channels, including programs such as ''Dancing with Stars'' from 2006. From 2008, she hosted the program ''Official Romance'' with

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, and in 2010, she took part in the TV show ''Zirka + Zirka''. In 2017, she participated with her husband, Ihor Isakov, as a married couple in the 7th season of ''Weighed and Happy''. She then became lead presenter of the weather forecast alongside Oleksii Divieiev-Tserkovnyi on the Inter channel, which made her famous. She hosted the show ''Your Day''. She started acting as a side career but quickly gained popularity because of her distinct look, receiving roles in several well-known films in Ukraine, the Netherlands, Poland and Russia. She filmed with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, such as TV productions ''Die drei Musketiere'' and '' Rzhevsky versus Napoleon''. She received the Dovzhenko State Prize of Ukraine for her role in the film ''

Moskal-Charivnyk ''Moskal-Charivnyk'' (), is a 1995 musical comedy film by the Ukrainian filmmaker based on the 1819 vaudeville by Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotliarevskyi . The film features a detailed portrayal of Ukrainians, Ukrainian culture, showing the beauty o ...

'' (''Moskal the Magician''), and was awarded the Order of St. Volodymyr. Pysanka was married to Ihor Isakov, a businessman, from 2012. At the beginning of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, she escaped to Germany alone, without her family. Her departure interrupted the filming of Nataliia Vorozhbyt's ''Demons'', which had been scheduled for release in 2022. During the filming, she fell and broke her leg three times. She landed in

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

and was accommodated in a hostel by the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Her husband remained in Ukraine and took care of her mother who was ill and then died. In Germany, Pysanka was diagnosed with what was initially quoted as a "serious illness" and later revealed to be cancer.

Illness and death

Pysanka died in Kaiserslautern on 19 July 2022, at age 56. Her husband later confirmed that she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. On August 21, 2022, a farewell ceremony for the renowned actress and TV presenter Ruslana Pysanka, as well as her mother Dina Vasilyivna, whose body was also cremated, took place at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Kyiv. After the ceremony, the urns containing their ashes were buried at

Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery () is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiivskyi District of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Monument of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. History The cemetery was established in 1833 a ...

Selected filmography

Source: * 1995: ''

'' as ''Tetyana'' * 1999: ''

With Fire and Sword ''By Fire and Sword'' () is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as The Trilogy, followed by '' The Deluge'' (''Potop'', 1886) and '' Fire in the Step ...

'' as ''Horpyna'' * 2012: '' Rzhevsky versus Napoleon'' as ''Madame Golovina''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pysanka, Ruslana 1965 births 2022 deaths Actresses from Kyiv Film people from Kyiv Ukrainian film actresses Ukrainian television actresses Ukrainian cinematographers Inter (TV channel) people 1+1 (TV channel) people Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University alumni Laureates of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize Deaths from cancer in Germany 20th-century Ukrainian actresses 21st-century Ukrainian actresses