Russian-led fighters have fired Grad rockets at Ukrainian positions for the first time in several months, the Ukrainian military reported on Oct. 4. Some 58 Grad rockets and 10 mortar shells hit areas close to the coastal city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, the military said.
Sporadic shelling in several hotspots in Ukraine’s Donbas over the last months – from Stanytsya Luhanska in Luhansk Oblast to the cities of Avdiyivka and Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast – have cost the Ukrainian army at least 12 soldiers killed and 36 wounded, according to a Kyiv Post count based on information from the military, volunteers and local media reports.
Those pictured are Ukrainian soldiers known to have been killed from Aug. 30 – Oct. 2.
Aug. 30
Hennadiy Levytsky, 41, a soldier of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army from Mykolaiv Oblast. He joined the army in 2015 and served with the 28th Mechanized Brigade until 2016. Later he decided to return to the front lines. He was killed by shellfire near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast.
“The country should know its heroes. They must not be forgotten. The biggest honor for a fighter is to die in a battle. (For Hennadiy) his fellows were his dear family,” said Yana Zinkevych, one of the founders of the Hospitaliery medical volunteer battalion. Levytsky leaves a mother and a younger brother, who is also serving in the east of Ukraine.
Sept. 3
Volodymyr Serchenko, 33, a senior operator of the communication division of the 39th Battalion of the 55th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. Serchenko, a native of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, used to live in Zhovti Vody. In 2016, he signed a contract with the army. After being wounded and receiving treatment in June, he returned to the front lines. He was killed in Avdiyivka forest. Serchenko leaves his wife and two children – a 10-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son.
Sept. 6
Oleh Dynka, 42, a soldier of the Pravy Sector Volunteer Battalion from Dnipro. He had worked in the construction business until he volunteered for the army in the beginning of 2015. He joined the 1st tank brigade, and together with fellow soldiers took part in battles for Maryinka. In April 2016 Dynka demobilized but later decided to return to the war front.
“He was a very calm person and always carefully and scrupulously approached each of his military assignments,” military volunteer Yan Osoka said. Dynka was killed in the village of Pisky near Donetsk airport by shrapnel from a landmine. He leaves a mother and a wife.
Sept. 7
Kostyantyn Serhiyenko, 39, a sniper of the 58th Brigade from Sumy Oblast. He was an energetic and active young man. His friends say that he liked to hike in the Carpathian Mountains and enjoyed chess. He had worked at local thermoelectric power station until he was called up in 2014. In 2016, after spending some time with his family, he decided to return to the front and signed a contract with the army.
“He was a true warrior, kind and prudent about his fellows, but ruthless to the enemy,” said volunteer Yan Osoka. Serhiyenko was killed in Luhansk Oblast. Serhiyenko leaves his parents, a brother, a wife and a son.
Ihor Telyuk, 37, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He joined the army in 2016. Telyuk’s fellow soldiers recall that he was always smiling, even during the most difficult times. He was killed near the city of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast by a sniper. Telyuk leaves a wife and a daughter.
Sept. 12
Maksym Kryvydenko, 23, a soldier of the 28th Brigade from Odesa Oblast. He was an active EuroMaidan Revolution supporter and later went to Crimea to help pro-Ukrainian citizens there. He was taken hostage and spent five days in Russian-occupied Simferopol until he was released.
He was called up to the army in 2014 and served for two years. He returned to the army in June 2016. Kryvydenko was badly wounded during a mortar attack on Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast. He died on the way to hospital. Kryvydenko leaves his parents, a brother, three sisters and a girlfriend.
Sept. 14
Serhiy Almuzhny, 30, a soldier from the 58th Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He volunteered for the army in 2014 and took part in battle of Debaltseve, a strategic rail and road junction in the Donetsk Oblast. “He was not only a warrior and a patriot… he was a brave fighter for the new Ukrainian army, fought with those so-called generals-on-paper, in particular with General Nikitenko, who once called the volunteer soldiers “cowards fleeing from Ilovaisk,” volunteer Nazar Prikhodko wrote. Almuzhny was killed by a sniper near Butivka mine in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and a daughter.
Sept. 23
Roman Dovhy, 26, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Mykolaiv Oblast. He volunteered in 2014 and demobilized in 2016. He returned to the army soon after. Volunteer Yan Osoka said Dovhy was a cheerful young man and “always cherished everything he had.” He wanted to get married and travel to Poland after demobilization at the beginning of October. He was killed in the fighting near the village of Novooleksandrivka in Luhansk Oblast. Dovhy leaves his mother, a brother, and a girlfriend.
Sept. 28
Serhiy Huvir, 24, a border guard from Odesa Oblast. Huvir served in the Luhansk office of Ukraine’s State Border Service. He had been in the war zone since fall 2016. He was killed near Stanytsya-Luhanska in Luhansk Oblast, some 800 meters away from the border with Russia, by a landmine. Huvir leaves his parents and a pregnant wife.
Dmytro Dede, 33, a border guard from Odesa Oblast. He served in the Luhansk office of Ukraine’s State Border Service with Serhiy Huvir. He had been in the war zone since fall 2016. Dede was killed near Stanytsya-Luhanska in Luhansk Oblast, some 800 meters away from the border with Russia, by a landmine. He leaves a wife and two children.
Oct. 1
Serhiy Klemeshev, 24, a soldier of the 28th Brigade from Odesa Oblast. Klemeshev was called up in 2016 and in early 2017 signed a contract with the army. In August, he was awarded a medal for “Defending the Motherland.” Klemeshev was killed by a landmine near the village of Bohdanivka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his parents and a wife.
Oct. 2
Viktor Melnyk, 58, a soldier of the 72nd Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He was killed in Donetsk Oblast. Melnyk leaves his wife, two children, and four grandchildren.
