La Torche et l’Épée is the place Olivier Lavigne-Ortiz went to write about crossing the border into Ukraine as a foreign volunteer fighter, and to share pictures of the weapons he got on the other side.
It means “The torch and the sword,” and for years the online blog and Facebook community has been the container for the former Canadian Forces sniper’s thoughts and observations about his time in conflict zones, where, as he told the Star in a 2016 interview, he views himself in a dual role as both soldier and storyteller.
That is, until the account went dark this week, a change from his approximately once daily posting since late February. At the same time, Russian social media accounts started spreading a now-viral rumour that Lavigne-Ortiz has died.
