At least 17 soldiers killed in war with Russia since ‘back-to-school ceasefire’

The situation in eastern Ukraine remains tense, although international monitors have recorded a decrease in violence since so-called “back-to-school ceasefire” was announced on Sept. 1.

However, the Ukrainian military claimed on Oct. 13 that despite an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe-brokered disengagement deal, the withdrawal of troops and weapons was impossible in Stanytsya Luhanska because of separatists’ violations of the ceasefire.

Donetsk airport, Yasynuvata and Avdiivka remained the hot spots in the Donetsk sector, according to the OSCE.

Sporadic outbreaks of shelling have already claimed lives of at least 17 Ukrainian servicemen since Sept. 1. More than 110 soldiers have been wounded, according to official reports.

The death toll from Russia’s war in Ukraine has reached 9,578 people, more than 2,000 of whom were civilians, and 22,236 people were wounded, the United Nations estimates. This number includes Ukrainian servicemen, civilians and members of the Kremlin-backed armed groups.

Since the beginning of 2016 the number of casualties – both military and civilian –  reached 945, said Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper published on Sept. 25.

The Defense Ministry also reported on Oct. 6 that since the beginning of this year Russian occupation forces have violated ceasefire more than 12,000 times, which resulted in the deaths of at least 173 Ukrainian soldiers.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has reported that in September the number of civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine dropped by more than three times compared to the summer: five killed and 19 injured.

The following is the list of those known to have been killed from Sept. 1 to Oct. 11.

Sept. 2

Mykola Shevchenko (Manko), 32, a soldier of the 44th Artillery Brigade from Zelenche in Ternopil Oblast. He served in the east of Ukraine in 2015 and then demobilized, but came back to the front in May. He was shot in the head in a city in Luhansk Oblast. Shevchenko leaves a mother, sister, and an 11-year-old son.

Sept. 5

Oleg Medynskiy, 48, a deputy commander of the 73rd Marine Unit for Special Operations, from Ochakiv. In 2006, he founded a military-patriotic sports club where he trained teens in kyokushin karate. Medynsky, a second dan black belt, had served in the east since 2014. He was killed in a landmine blast near Mariupol. He leaves a wife, three children and two grandchildren.

Oleksandr Kravchenko, 20, a gun layer from Rivne Oblast. He was mobilized in May and died in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a father and younger brother.

Sept. 8

Vadym Matrosov, 27, a reconnaissance officer of the 46th Donbas Battalion. Matrosov was mobilized in 2015. He was allegedly killed in an attack near Donetsk Oblast’s Maryinka in which grenade launchers were used. He leaves his wife and two twin daughters. He was widely recognized as one of the best reconnaissance officers in the east. His comrades described him as brave and trustworthy soldier. “He was devoted to Ukraine, highly professional and deeply respected by everyone in the battalion,” said one of Matrosov’s fellow soldiers, who goes by the nom-de-guerre Rokot.

Sept. 9

Yevhen Netyosov, 33, a squad leader of the 54th Mechanized Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Mobilized in August 2015, Netyosov was killed by a gunshot in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his mother and two sisters.

Yevhen Burba, 41, a German Ukrainian, and a soldier of the 46th Donbas Battalion. He joined the army in May 2015. Burba was killed in explosion near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a mother and twin sister.

Oleg Varenych, 32, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Kharkiv Oblast. Before the war he worked as a farm machinery operator. Varenych volunteered for the army in July 2015. He was killed in explosion near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his father, younger brother, wife and two children – a five-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son.

Sept. 10

Andriy Zuev, 22, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Kyiv. A car mechanic and electrician, he served in the army for two-and-a-half years and was sent to the war zone in May. On Sept. 9, he was badly injured in an explosion near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast and died later in hospital. Zuev leaves his father and brother.

Hryhoriy Dvygalo, 52, a warrant officer of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He ran two businesses in Kyiv before the war. One of those, the LigaPlast plant, manufactured polyethylene plastics; while another, Kyivsky Magnat, managed property. Dvygalo was mobilized in the summer of 2015. On Sept. 9 he was injured in explosion near Mar’inka in Donetsk Oblast and died in hospital next day. He leaves a son, two daughters, and grandchildren.

Oleksiy Sidelnikov, a reconnaissance officer of the 53rd Brigade from Kharkiv Oblast. He died in the east of Ukraine on Sept. 10th.

Sept. 12

Maksym Samoilovych, 36, a soldier of the 37th Motorized Zaporizhzhya Brigade. Before mobilization in July 2015, he had worked in the railway section of the Dnipro Azot chemical manufacturer. Samoilovych was killed by shrapnel during an artillery strike near the village of Chermalyk in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and two daughters.

Sept. 13

Oleksandr Hulkevych, 42, a marksman of the 53rd Brigade from Zhytomyr Oblast. He was mobilized in August 2015. Hulkevych was killed by mortar fire at a checkpoint near the town of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his mother, brother, and a son.

Sept. 16

Vladyslav Tryvolenko, 21, a combat engineer of the 81st airborne brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He was killed in a blast from an improvised explosive device near Donetsk Oblast’s Avdiivka. Tryvolenko leaves his parents in the city of Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast.

Sept. 23

Stepan Ukhansky, 44, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. He had worked at a security guard firm. He leaves his parents in Tysiv village. The cause of Ukhansky’s death is yet to be determined.

Illya Zhabytsky, 25, a soldier of the 53rd Brigade from Vinnytsia. He enlisted to the army in 2011 and in 2016 went to the war zone. He had been on the front line for the last three months. Zhabytsky was killed by mortar fire near the village of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast. He was an only son in his family. “He was the best friend and so brave, he never worried that something could happen to him,” Zhabytsky’s comrade, Vitaly Vikhlyayev, was quoted as saying. “I wasn’t there (when it happened), but when the soldiers came back from their positions and were ready for sleep, a mortar shell hit them. I want people not to forget what’s going on in the east, that’s why we’ll stay there until victory.”

Sept. 28

Ruslan Piven, 25, a soldier from Kyiv Oblast. He was mobilized in 2014 and served in the 30th mechanized brigade. He took part in the battle for Savur Mohyla, a hill of strategic importance in Donetsk Oblast close to the Russian border. He later enlisted in the professional army and served in the city of Zhytomyr. Piven joined the 81st Airborne Brigade at their positions in Donetsk Oblast’s Avdiivka. He was killed during shelling near Avdiivka. Piven leaves his parents and a younger brother.

Sept. 29

Viacheslav Lytovchenko, 44, a soldier of the nationalist Right Sector Battalion from Poltava Oblast. He volunteered to undergo training with the battalion and went to the war zone in February. Lytovchenko was injured in an attack on the Butivka coal mine in eastern Ukraine, but made it back to the front line after treatment. He was badly injured during shelling near Avdiivka and died later in hospital. Lytovchenko leaves his parents, two brothers and a son.

Oct. 1

Oleksandr Bachinsky, 36, a soldier of the 72th Separate Mechanized Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. Before the military draft in March 2014, he worked on a farm. Bachinsky took part in the battle for the city of Slovyansk, and was injured during shelling by Grad rockets in July 2014 near the village of Zelenopillya in Luhansk Oblast. He’d been fighting for his life ever since, and died in hospital on Oct. 1. Bachinsky leaves his father, three brothers, wife and five children. His eldest daughter is from his first marriage.

Oct. 2

Myroslav Mysla, 24, a platoon commander of the Karpatska Sych Battalion from Kharkiv Oblast. During the EuroMaidan Revolution, Mysla worked as a special correspondent for the Voice of Liberty radio station. He volunteered for the army right after the start of the Kremlin-instigated war. Mysla was killed by mortar fire near the village of Krymske in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves his mother.

Oct. 3

Serhiy Kravchenko, 32, a soldier of Ukraine’s nationalist Right Sector Battalion from Vinnytsia Oblast. Kravchenko defended Donetsk airport with the 95th airborne brigade at the beginning of the war. He was killed during combat mission near Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a daughter.

Oct. 5

Maksym Yarovets, 22, a long-range reconnaissance patrol officer in the 130th Battalion from Khmelnytsky. He served in Donetsk and Luhansk and was killed in a landmine blast near the city of Mariinka. He leaves his father and sister.

Oleksiy Yemets, an artillery soldier from Kharkiv. He was a historian and a writer. Yemets had worked as a criminal investigator. He had studied methods of Russia’s information war against Ukraine and together with Kharkiv-based historian Oleh Yatsyna co-wrote two books – War Is War and the Varyag Operation. He volunteered for the army and was killed in Luhansk.

Oct. 8

David Hamsakhurdiya, 25, a soldier of the 128th Mountain Infantry Brigade, and a native of Georgia, He lived in Zakarpattya Oblast together with his mother after they fled from Georgia. Hamsakhurdiya was badly injured by mortar fire on Sept. 16 near the Butivka coal mine near Donetsk. He died in a Dnipropetrovsk hospital after undergoing a number of operations. He leaves his mother in Uzhgorod, a city near the Hungarian border.

Oct. 10

Oleksandr Sizov, 36, a soldier of the 23rd Motorized Infantry Khortytsia Battalion from Melitopol. Sizov had worked as a welder before he was mobilized to the army in 2015. Sizov was killed by mortar fire near Mariupol. He was an orphan, and leaves a sister.

Anatoliy Nenytsia, 28, a soldier of the 54th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Nenytsia was killed in a mine blast near Donetsk Oblast’s Shyrokyne. He leaves a wife and two children in the city of Zelenodolsk.

Oct. 11.

Vitaliy Tishkun, 25, a soldier of the 30th Brigade from Rivne Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in late May and killed near Volhovakha in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his parents.