At least 1,638 soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine

U.S. officials report Russia is boosting its military presence across the border with at least 55,000 of Russian regular troops.

Moreover, there are at least 14,400 Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and 29,300 Kremlin-backed proxie, according to U.S. expert Stephen Blank. The Russian units are equipped with the latest main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of pieces of rocket artillery.

Ukraine’s military officials report the situation remains difficult on the front line in Shchastya, Luhanske, Shyrokyne and other cities.

Casualties mount in Russia’s war against Ukraine (through March 5)

Sources: Ukrainian Health Ministry, Defense Ministry Medical Service, Defense Ministry, United Nations, anti-terrorist operation spokesman Andriy Lysenko, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Russian human rights activist Elena Vasilieva

The following is the list of those known to be killed through Feb. 12 – March 2:

Feb. 12

Vladyslav Trepko, 27,
military doctor from Chernivsti. He was mobilized to the army in March,
2014. His colleagues recall he was always ready to help and saved many
wounded comrades. “He was one of the best people I used to know,” Olha
Kobevko, a friend of Trepko, was quoted as saying. “He was very sincere
and helpful. He was like an angel.” Trepko was killed during the
shelling near Debaltsevo while rescuing his wounded comrade. He leaves
his parents and a fiancé in Chernivsti.

Ihor Markvas, 47,
a soldier of the 79th airborne brigade from Mykolaiv Oblast. Markvas
was killed near Debaltseve. His colleagues recalled during the mourning
that he was “a great friend and a good father.” He leaves a wife and a
daughter.

Oleksandr Boiko, 37, a soldier of the 93^rd mechanized brigade from Rivne Oblast. He was killed during the shelling in Pisky village, close to Donetsk Airport. Boiko leaves a wife and two children in his native Klevan village.

Feb. 13

Vitaliy Postolaki, commander of the intelligence unit of the 128^th mechanized
brigade from Uzhorod. Postolaki wanted to go to the army right after
the annexation of Crimea, but make it there only after his third
attempt. He used to work as a customs officer and then started
his own business. Postolaki’s friends recalled he was a fair man and
always wanted to help, he also tried to stay connected with his family
during the service. He was killed a week before his 50^th birthday during the battle for Debaltseve. Postolaki leaves a wife and daughters in Uzhorod, Zakarpattya Oblast.

Rostyslav Yakubyk, 36,
Aidar Battalion member from Ternopil Oblast. Yakubyk was an active
EuroMaidan Revolution supporter, he used to be a commander of one of the
self-defense units. He volunteered to the army then, because “he can’t
stay aside when the enemy attacks,” his friends recall. Yakubyk was
killed during the mortar shelling near a city of Shchastya in Luhansk
Oblast.

Feb. 14

Ihor Holchenko, 18, a member of Azov volunteer battalion of Ukraine’s National Guard. He
was one of the youngest members of his unit. Holchenko used to be an
active soccer fan of his local team. He was killed near Shyrokyne, a
village close to Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. Holchenko leaves his parents in Sumy.

Roman Chernenko, 19,
a member of Azov volunteer battalion from Dnipropetrovsk. Chernenko was
killed near Shyrokyne, a village close to Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast.

Volodymyr Radionov, 26,
Azov Battalion member from Luhansk. Radionov’s friends recall he was an
active young man and a soccer fan of a local team. He was killed near
Shyrokyne, a village close to Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast.

Feb. 15

Mykhailo Chebotariov, 26, Azov Battalion member. Chebotariov,
ethnic Russian, was raised in Fastiv in Kyiv Oblast. He volunteered to
the army in August. He was killed in the shelling in Shyrokyne village
in Donetsk Oblast. Chebotariov leaves a wife and a son in Fastiv.

Viacheslav Kyrylov, 33, a
soldier of Azov Battalion. He was killed near a village of Shyrokyne in
Donetsk Oblast. Kyrylov leaves a wife and a son in Odesa.

Anton Hrytsai, 27, a soldier of Azov volunteer battalion of Ukraine’s National Guard. He
was an active participant of the EuroMaidan Revolution. Together with
his friend, Dmytro Bilokon, they created a memorial for those killed in
the war for Ukraine. Hrytsai was killed near Shyrokyne, a village close
to Mariupol.

Yevheniy Telnov, 53, a military driver for Donbas Battalion. He
used to be an entrepreneur in his native Kirovohrad. When the war in
the east of Ukraine started, Telnov gave up his business and volunteered
to Donbas Battalion. He was sent to the war zone in July. In one of his
last interviews, Telnov explained that he went to the war zone because
“one can’t sit and wait that other would do something for you.” He was
killed during the mortar shelling close to Mariupol, but managed to rescue his wounded comrade.

Feb. 16

Serhiy Havrylyuk, 29, a soldier from Cherkasy Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in
August. Olha Sytnyk, a volunteer who helps Ukrainian fighters in the
war zone, recalls that Havrylyuk was “very cheerful young man.” He was killed near Debaltseve. Havrylyuk leaves a wife and 8-year-old daughter.

Dmytro Labutkin,
28, a war correspondent from Ternopil Oblast. He used to work in
Crimea, but then moved to Odesa after the Russian annexation of the
peninsula. Labutkin covered the events on the front line when he was
killed near Debaltseve in Donetsk Obalst. He leaves a wife and a
daughter.

Feb. 17
Roman Kozychko, 39, a soldier of the 128^th mechanized
brigade from Zakarpattya Oblast. He served in the army in 2006.
Kozychko was mobilized in August and was deployed to the east of Ukraine
later. He was killed during the shelling close to Debaltseve in Donetsk
Oblast. He leaves a 5-year-old daughter in a city of Tyachiv in
Zakarpattya Oblast.

Andriy Pokladov, 42, a soldier of the 128^th mechanized brigade from Poltava Oblast. Pokladov was
killed near the village of Chornukhyne in Luhansk Oblast. His family
lost connection with Pokladov, then his wife received a phone call from
one of the Russia-backed fighters who told her that Pokladov was killed.
Pokladov leaves a his family in Kremenchuk.

Viktor Sosnyuk, 41, a soldier of the 300^th tank
brigade from Chernihiv Oblast. Sosnyuk was shot by a sniper close to
Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his mother and three children in
Desna village in Chernihiv Oblast.

Feb. 18

Roman Laban, 22, a soldier of Ukraine’s National Guard from Khmelnytskiy Oblast. Laban was a graduate of National Academy of Internal Affairs. He was killed in a battle for Debaltseve. Laban was the only son in his family. He leaves his parents in Khmelnytskiy Oblast.

Anatoliy Hrubiy, 43, a soldier of the 128^th brigade from Vinnytsia Oblast. He was mobilized to the Ukrainian army in spring 2014. He used to work as a veterinary before
the war started. Hrubiy was badly wounded in his neck during the
shelling near Debaltseve when he tried to rescue his wounded comrade. He
died on the way to a hospital. Hrubiy leaves a wife and two sons.

Serhiy Ambros, 24, Azov Battalion member. He was a local civic activist and used
to lead some patriotic organizations in his native Cherkasy. Later he
was an active participant of EuroMaidan Revolution events. Ambros
volunteered to the army in May. He was killed during the mortar shelling
in Shyrokyne, close to Mariupol. He leaves his parents and older
brother.

Mykola Belyma, 30, a soldier of the 17^th tank brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He volunteered to the army and was badly wounded near Debaltseve. He died later in a hospital.

Andriy Horbenko, 44, a soldier of the 81th brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. Horbenko used to work as a mechanic for the local plant before he was mobilized to the army in August. He was killed near Opytne village in Donetsk Obalst. Horbenko leaves a wife and a daughter.

Feb. 21

Oleksandr Yevsyukov, 37, a military doctor of the 79^th airborne
brigade. Yevsyukov, a native of Crimea, moved to Kherson in 2004. He
was an active EuroMaidan Revolution participant and later volunteered to
the army. He went to the front line in August. Yevsyukov was killed
during the mortar shelling in a village of Shyrokyne, close to Mariupol.

Feb. 22

Dmytro Kolesnikov, 19, a soldier of the Praviy Sector nationalist battalion. He
underwent a number of trainings in December and later volunteered to
the east of Ukraine. He was killed when the shell hit the warehouse
where Ukrainian fighters were located in Pisky. Kolesnikov leaves his
parents and sister in Volyn Oblast.

Vadym Rybalchenko, 37, a police officer from Kharkiv Oblast. He was deployed to
Kharkiv before the peaceful march on the anniversary of the EuroMaidan
Revolution. He was killed because of the explosion on Feb. 22 near the
Sports Palace in Kharkiv.

Valeriy Deresh, 32, a recon team member of St. Mary Battalion of the Ukraine’s Interior Ministry from
Khmelnytskiy. He used to lead the group to the territory held by
Kremlin-backed fighters. He was killed during a car accident on
Donetsk-Mariupol highway. “He was on the verge of death so many times,
but died in a car accident,” one of his comrades said.

Vasyl Rosokha, 22, a
member of St. Mary Battalion of the Ukraine’s Interior Ministry from
Zakarpattya Oblast. Rosokha was a student of the National Tax Service
University in Irpin when the EuroMaidan Revolution started. Then he
volunteered to the army and ended up serving in Mariupol. Rosokha was killed during a car accident on Donetsk-Mariupol highway. He was the only son in his family.

Vitaliy Mandryk, 27,
a police officer from Donetsk Oblast. He was killed when on duty in a
port city of Mariupol. Mandryk, together with his colleagues, stopped a
car in the afternoon on Feb. 23. While Mandryk was checking a car, the
terrorists opened fire and shoot Mandryk in his head. Mandryk’s death
was instant. He leaves a wife and 1-year-old child.

Feb. 26

Volodymyr Hnatyuk, 34, a soldier of the 81^th airborne
brigade from Zhytomyr. He volunteered to the army in spring and was
killed in the shelling close to the city of Donetsk. Hnatyuk leaves a
wife and 5-year-old daughter in Sonyachne village in Zhytomyr Oblast.

Oleksandr Batenko, 27,
a sniper of the 81th airborne brigade from Mykolaiv. He volunteered to
the army last autumn and was later deployed to the war zone. He was
killed during the artillery shelling close to Donetsk.

March 2

Oleh Storozhenko, 29, a
warrant officer of the 801th unit of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.
Storozhenko was killed during an ambush near the village of Pavlopil,
close to the port city of Mariupol, Donetsk Obalst.

Oleksandr Strelyuk, 33,
senior sergeant of the 801th unit of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.
Strelyuk used to serve in Sevastopol, Crimea, but after Russian
annexation of the peninsula he moved to Odesa. He was badly wounded
during an ambush near the village of Pavlopil, close to the port city of
Mariupol, Donetsk Obalst and died later in a hospital. Strelyuk leaves a
wife in Odesa. “I had the best husband – kind and loving, and now he’s
not with us,” Strelyuk’s wife, Anastasia, was quoted as saying during
the mourning.