Ukraine’s recent military successes – the nation’s flag is now flying over Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast – are coming with even greater human costs. Some 223 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed, according to the Kyiv Post count, although the official death toll stands at 200.
Here are victims killed between June 19-July 8 in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts:
June 19
Mykola Liushenko, 28, warrant officer of the 25th Airborne Brigade based at Dnipropetrovsk. He was killed in fighting near Luhansk on June 19. Liushenko leaves a wife and 3-year-old son.
Yuriy Holopolosov, 42, senior warrant officer. Colleagues called him “brave and honorable.” The native Russian volunteered to join the army “to protect Ukraine,” his friends said. He was killed in battle near Krasny Lyman, when he put his body in front of a junior soldier and saved his life. Holopolosov leaves his wife and a son.
Andriy Lytvynenko, 38, soldier. He leaves his wife and a child.
Vitaliy Mospan, 42, a soldier of the 25th Dnipropetrovsk Airborne Brigade, he was killed during a fight near Chervony Lyman village in Donetsk Oblast on June 19. He leaves a wife and two children.
June 21
Kremlin-backed separatists shot down another Ukrainian MI-8 helicopter near Kharkiv on June 21. The helicopter was taking fresh supplies to Ukraine’s east. All three members of the crew were killed: Ruslan Redkin, 37, lieutenant colonel, was buried in his hometown of Nizhyn in Chernihiv Oblast; Oleksandr Lesychenko, 36, a pilot of the squadron, leaves a wife and two sons in Mariupol; and Volodymyr Mykhailyk, 39, flight engineer of the squadron.
June 23
Artem Pobedynsky, 22, a junior lieutenant, was on his way home to Davido-Mykilske in Luhansk Oblast on June 23 when he was killed by Kremlin-backed insurgents.
June 24
Oleksiy Prykhodko, 22, a junior sergeant of the 72nd armored brigade, he was killed on June 24 in Krasnoarmiisk and mourned in his native Romny in Sumy Oblast on June 26.
Vitaliy Tsybora, 21, a senior soldier. One of his comrades, Denys, recalled Tsybora was worried about his mother, but remained confident. “He said to me, ‘don’t worry, we will make it. We will rock Bila Tserkva pubs later.’ Tsybora leaves his mother and a sister in his native Movchanivka village in Zhytomyr Oblast.
Using surface-to-air missiles, Kremlin-backed insurgents shot down Ukrainian military aircraft on June 24 near Sloviansk. The following servicemen were killed aboard the MI-8 helicopter: Ihor Horbenko, 31, SBU officer. He leaves his wife and 3-year-old daughter in Hostomel in Kyiv Oblast and his father and brother in his native Nizhyn of Chernihiv Oblast; Volodymyr Shkiria, 33, SBU officer. He was deployed to Ukraine’s east a week before his death. He leaves a daughter. Marko Shpak, SBU officer; and Evheniy Zelensky, 23, senior lieutenant, group commander of the 8th separate special purpose regiment. He leaves his parents and two sisters in Kyiv.
June 26
Artur Hulyk, 30, National Guard soldier. Hulyk, an active EuroMaidan Revolution supporter, was killed in a shooting near the Myrne checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast.
Maksym Dobriansky, 26, a senior soldier of the 95th Zhytomyr air cavalry brigade, he was born in Korostyshiv of Zhytomyr Oblast. He leaves his parents and sister.
Ihor Vashchuk, 20, a soldier from 95th Zhytomyr air cavalry brigade.
Andriy Kohan, 40, sergeant of the 95th air cavalry brigade. He leaves his wife and children in Velyka Pich village in Zhytomyr Oblast.
Oleksiy Kozachenko, 32, Ukraine’s border guard soldier. He was shot at night on June 26 when he visited a supermarket in Luhansk. He stopped for a cigarette as two unidentified men opened fire.
June 28
Vasyl Nalyvayko, 23, a soldier from Zakarpattya Oblast, who formerly served in the 128th mechanized infantry brigade in Mukachev.
Vitaliy Belikov, 23, lieutenant from Skadovsk in Kherson Oblast. His friends recalled Belikov always wanted to become a serviceman. He was killed in an ambush near Luhansk on June 28. Belikov leaves his wife and a newborn daughter in his native Skadovsk.
Oleksandr Zakusylo, 40, a soldier from Zhytomyr Oblast. Zakusylo was serving at the 95th Airmobile Brigade in Zhytomyr. He was killed during a shootout near Krasny Lyman. Zakusylo leaves his mother, four brothers, a wife and a son.
Leonid Ordynskiy, 41, soldier from Vinnitsa Oblast. His friend, Volodymyr Kryklyvyi, recalled Ordynskiy asked him not to tell his relatives that he was sent east. “I couldn’t betray him, and so kept silence,” Kryklyvyi was quoted as saying. Ordynskiy leaves a wife and 15-year-old son.
June 30
Ihor Kiseliov, 26, a soldier from Odesa, Kiseliov celebrated his last birthday in army. He graduated from the Lviv Institute of Ground Forces in 2007. He was killed by a sniper on June 30. He leaves a wife.
Valentyn Cheruta, 37, soldier from Cherkasy Oblast. Cheruta, an Aydar battalion member, was an active EuroMaidan activist. He was killed while patrolling a checkpoint on June 30. He leaves his wife and two children.
Ihor Uporov, 29, a soldier from Lutsk Oblast. He was wounded in fighting with insurgents near Luhansk on June 30 and died of the wounds later. He leaves his pregnant wife and 5-year-old daughter.
July 1
Yaroslav Davydov, 20, a soldier from Shepetivka in Khmelnytsky Oblast. He served in the 80th air cavalry brigade in Lviv Oblast. Davydov was killed on July 1, a month after his 20th birthday.
Volodymyr Gryniuk, 24, a soldier from Volyn Oblast. He warned his family that something scary was happening in Sloviansk, only hours before his death.
Andriy Abrosymov, 20, a soldier from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Abrosymov was killed when terrorists opened fire at their checkpoint. He was awarded a medal for saving colleagues.
Petro Bodnar, 37, a soldier from Chernivtsi Oblast. He served at 95th air cavalry brigade in Zhytomyr. He was killed during a shootout near Sloviansk.
July 2
Serhiy Bovsunovsky, 32, a soldier from Bovsuny in Zhytomyr Oblast, he was killed in Luhansk on July 2. He leaves his parents and sister.
Andriy Brovinsky, 40, a soldier from Vinnytsia Oblast. His older brother, Serhiy Brovinsky recalled that “our father always taught us we must defend our country.” He leaves his wife and two children.
Ihor Bilyk, 35, a soldier from Lviv Oblast. He was killed on July 2 during the separatists’ attack on the observation point near Panchenkova village in Luhansk Oblast.
Volodymyr Presnyakov, 25, a soldier from Novoazovsk, Donetsk Oblast, he died on July 2 during an attack near Novoazovsk checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast.
July 3
Oleh Semenovskiy, 35, warrant officer for the Border Service of Ukraine. Semenovskiy died in a hospital on July 3, the day after he was injured in fighting near Novoazovsk checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast.
Three traffic policemen Vadym Tantsur and Volodymyr Gavrylov from Donetsk and Mykhailo Simakov from Luhansk were shot by Kremlin-backed insurgents in Donetsk on July 3.
July 4
Oleksiy Zaika, 22, soldier from Zaporizhzhiya. He used to work at Motor Sich, Ukraine’s engine manufacturer. He was killed during a night attack on July 4 at Novoselivka village checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast.
Anton Lysechko, 25, a soldier from Kryvyi Rih, Lysechko died during the battle to liberate Sloviansk.
Dmytro Shevchenko, 24, a soldier from Kremenchug. He was killed on July 4 near Novoselivka in Donetsk Oblast, during the separatists’ night attack on checkpoints.
Oleksiy Kalyniuk, 21, a soldier from Zakarpattia. Kalyniuk leaves his parents, four brothers and sisters and a fiancé in his native hometown of Rakhiv.
July 5
Volodymyr Mamadaliyev, 37, lieutenant colonel of 51st mechanized brigade. He was killed at a checkpoint near Karachun Mountain in Donetsk Oblast. The ethnic Uzbek proudly called himself Ukrainian. He leaves his wife, who also serves in the army, and 12-year-old son.
Oleksandr Kovaliov, 33, a senior sergeant and technician from Novoazovsk in Donetsk Oblast. He died during the separatists’ attack on the coast of the Azov Sea near Sedov on July 5.
July 7
Oleh Hulko, 41, a soldier from Zalishchyky in Ternopil Oblast. He served in the Aydar Battalion and was killed on July 7.
Evhen Voytsehovskiy, 39, a commander from Cherkasy Oblast. He was killed in a shootout near Shchastia village in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves a wife and two children.
July 8
Yuriy Baran, 45, a commander from Ivano Frankivsk Oblast, was killed by a sniper’s bullet to the head.
July 8
Dmitry Gerasymchuk, 29, a soldier from Novohrad-Volynskyi in Zhytomyr Oblast, was killed during a mortar attack on a checkpoint at Metalist village near Luhansk.
July 9
Oleksiy Tsyhankov, 30, a border guard from Zaporizhzhiya Oblast. He was wounded during the separatists’ attack on a border checkpoint and died later in a hospital in Novoazovsk.
Also, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting near Chervona Zirka and Muratove villages in Luhansk Oblast on July 9.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected]
