You're reading: At least 2,609 soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine

The risk of a resumption of full-scale hostilities in eastern Ukraine remains high, with the number of attacks by Russian-backed forces increasing to at least 42 on March 9, leaving one Ukrainian soldier killed and another wounded.

Earlier, international monitors with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported numerous ceasefire violations near the city of Donetsk and government-controlled Svitlodarsk. Maryinka, Avdiivka and the village of Luhanske in Donetsk Oblast also remained hot spots.

The death toll from Russia’s war on Ukraine has reached almost 9,187 people, while more than 21,000 have been wounded, the United Nations said in its latest report on March 3. According to Fiona Frazer, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, this number includes Ukrainian soldiers, civilians and members of Russian-backed armed groups.

According to official figures, over 2,600 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and at least 9,000 wounded in the hostilities.

Since the beginning of 2016, Ukrainian positions have been shelled over 2,500 times, leaving 12 Ukrainian servicemen dead and more than 150 wounded. The Kyiv Post estimates that the number of killed since January is higher – at around 40 killed – based on official reports, local media sources, and information from relatives.

The following is the list of those known to be killed through the period of Jan. 1 – March 5:

Jan. 1

Nazar Holyuk, 28-year-old soldier of the Aidar Battalion was shot near the city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast. On the same day, 18-year-old Oleksandr Koval of the Azov Regiment of Ukraine’s National Guard was killed near the city of Mariupol. Koval, a native of Chernivtsi Oblast, was a member of the Svoboda Party’s youth branch. He was the only son in his family. “He was too young for this war,” Yaroslav Kohutyak, a Svoboda party member, was quoted as saying in Ukrainian media. “He promised his mom that he’d come back alive, but it never happened. We’re losing the best of our people.”

Jan. 2

Roman Bocharov, a member of the Dnipro-1 battalion – was killed on Jan. 2 near the village of Herasymovka close to Stanytsia-Luhanska. However, Ukrainian authorities say that Bocharov died from mishandling a weapon.

Jan. 8

Oleksandr Ilnytsky, 37, a member of the Peacekeeper Battalion of the new national police. Ilnytsky, a native of Lviv Oblast, was one of the first to join the unit. He fought in the fiercest battles, including the battle of Ilovaisk in late August 2014 which ended in a disastrous Ukrainian defeat that forced country’s leadership to start the Minsk negotiations. He was killed near Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast as he tried to save a local woman whose car was shelled by combined Russian-separatist forces. Andriy Teteruk, a commander of the Peacekeeper Battalion and a member of parliament, said Ilnytsky was “one of the bravest fighters, who wasn’t afraid of bullets and openly faced separatists in Ilovaisk.” Ilnytsky leaves a wife and a 7-year-old daughter.

Fedir Melnychuk, 21, a soldier of the 57th brigade from Zhytomyr Oblast. Melnychuk was mobilized to the army in April. He was badly injured as he tried to save civilians together with Ilnytsky near the village of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast as they were shelled. The soldier died later in a hospital. He leaves a wife, a 3-year-old son and a newborn daughter.

Jan. 10

Viktor Avramchuk, 27, a soldier of the 81st Brigade from Poltava Oblast. Avramchuk was mobilized to the army in August and made it to the war zone in October. He was hit in the head by shrapnel in Donetsk Oblast’s Zaitseve and died instantly. He leaves a wife, a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter in the city of Svitlovodsk, Kirovohrad Oblast.

Jan. 15

Serhiy Kharenko, 31, a soldier of the 28th brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Kharenko graduated from the local university in 2007. Later Kharenko was conscripted into the military and served in Crimea’s Sevastopol. He was mobilized in March 2015. His relatives said that Kharenko had never tried to avoid service. The soldier was killed at a check-point near the village of Myrne in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his parents in a village of Roshiv in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and a brother who serves in the army.

Jan. 17

Ruslan Mukomelets, 41, a serviceman from Rivne Oblast. He volunteered to serve in the army in summer. Mukomelets was killed near the town of Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves his family in the village of Velyki Selyshcha in Rivne Oblast.

Jan. 18

Hryhoriy Semenyshyn, 42, a chief of staff at a unit of the Right Sector volunteer battalion. Semenyshyn, an Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast native, was an active EuroMaidan Revolution supporter. He quit his job in Poland when the EuroMaidan protests began in November 2013 and returned to Kyiv two months later. Semenyshyn then joined the Right Sector nationalist group. He took part in the bloodiest battles, including one for the city of Ilovaisk, and fought against Russia-separatist troops in the village of Pisky and in Donetsk airport. Semenyshyn was killed by a landmine near the ruined building of Donetsk airport. He leaves a pregnant wife and two children.

Jan. 20

Valeriy Bocharnikov, 42, a soldier of the 13th motorized battalion from Zhytomyr Oblast. Bocharnikov had worked for a local enforcement agency in Kirovohrad for about 20 years. He was mobilized to the army in March 2015 and killed while defending his unit’s positions. “It’s so difficult to refer to someone you know and were friends with in the past tense,” Valeriy Drozdov, Bocharnikov’s colleague in the local police force, was quoted as saying during the funeral on Jan. 26. Bocharnikov leaves a 14-year-old son.

Roman Kuzmin, 38, a soldier of the 1st tank brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. Kuzmin grew up in a military family and was enlisted in the army. He was mobilized and joined the Donbas Battalion, but shifted to the volunteer Aidar Battalion three months later. Kuzmin was killed near the town of Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Jan. 25

Ivan Usatenko, 35, a soldier of the 36th Marine Brigade based in Mykolaiv Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in March 2015. He was killed as a result of a blast near the village of Vynohradne near the port city of Mariupol.

Jan. 30

Anatoliy Harkavenko, 25, a combat engineer with the 93rd Brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Harkavenko lost his legs after he set off a trip-wire mine near the Butivka mine, located between Donetsk and Avdiivka. He died later. He leaves a mother, sister and a fiancé – Valeriya Burlakova, a journalist who is now serving in Donetsk Oblast with the same brigade. Burlakova and Harkavenko planned to take a couple of days off at the end of January to get married. It never happened. “I didn’t hear the blast, I was on the other side of the mine,” Burlakova recalled later. “We argued a day before, but later I sent him a text message saying that I can’t live without him. She posted to her Facebook page later that day: “I’d be so happy if you were alive – even without legs, but alive.”

Volodymyr Drozd, 24, a military driver with the 57th Brigade from Khmelnytsky Oblast. Drozd made it to the war zone in August. He was killed during mortar shelling near the village of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast.

Feb. 1

Hennadiy Samus, 23, a soldier of the 96th Brigade from Chernihiv Oblast. Dmytro Miroshnychenko, a volunteer who knew Samus, said he was a humble and cheerful young man. “Once when he saw that my car had broken down he tried to do everything in field conditions to help me. He was under fire from mortars and Grad launcher systems, but was killed when he stepped on a landmine,” Miroshnychenko wrote. Samus was badly injured by a landmine explosion near the village of Spirne in Donetsk Oblast, and later died.

Feb. 5

Ihor Hryshyn, 47, a soldier of the 57th brigade from Kirovohrad Oblast. He was killed during shelling near the Donetsk Oblast town of Horlivka. Hryshyn leaves a family and a 19-year-old daughter. “My dad was a kind man,” Hryshyn’s daughter, Vladyslava, was quoted as saying.

Feb. 7

Oleksandr Kshyvitsky, 26, a soldier of the 24th brigade from Khmelnytsky Oblast. He was badly wounded after he set off a trip-wire mine near the village of Triokhizbenka in Luhansk Oblast. The soldier died later in one a hospital in the town of Severodonetsk. Kshyvitsky leaves a mother in a village of Radisne in Khmelnytsky Oblast.

Feb. 8

Ruslan Chernalevsky, 45, a soldier from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. He volunteered for the army in March 2015. He was killed a month before the end of his service in Yasynuvata district of Donetsk Oblast. Chernalevsky leaves a mother and a daughter.

Feb. 10

Oleh Sozonenko, 49, a soldier with the 93rd Mechanized Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk. Sozonenko volunteered for the army when Russian military aggression against Ukraine began in 2014. He was killed after he set off a trip-wire mine near Donetsk Oblast’s Avdiivka. Sozonenko’s fellow soldiers recall he was one of the most experienced in their unit. One of the fighters, who identified himself by his nom-de-guerre Ded (Grandfather), said he’s been serving with Sozonenko from the very first day: “He taught me everything. The fact that I’m alive is 50 percent to his credit.” Sozonenko leaves a family in Dnipropetrovsk.

Feb. 15

Ivan Beliayev, 41, a driver mechanic with the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Beliayev was mobilized to the army in August 2014 and after the end of his service decided to stay in the east for half a year. He was killed overnight on Feb. 15 when Russian-backed forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions near the city of Dokuchayevsk in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a mother and two sisters.

Oleksandr Kushnir, 37, a sergeant major for the 72nd Brigade from Mykolaiv Oblast. Kushnir was mobilized to the army in February 2015. He was killed at a checkpoint near the village of Novotroitske in Donetsk Oblast.

Feb. 18

Dmytro Reshetnyak, 23, a soldier of the 93rd Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk. Reshetnyak lost his legs in a mine blast near the village of Pisky in Donetsk Oblast. Military doctors tried to save his life for more than 10 hours, but he died. Reshetnyak was the only son in his family.

Feb. 20

Yuriy Koval, 43, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Ternopil Oblast. He joined Ternopil volunteer battalion first. Koval was shot dead by a sniper near the Ukrainian-held town of Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and two daughters in a town of Lanivtsi in Ternopil Oblast.

Yan Nazarenko, 24, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in February 2015. Nazarenko was killed by a sniper near the village of Starohnativka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his parents, a brother and two sisters.

Feb. 25

Oleksandr Avramenko, 45, a soldier of the 72nd Brigade from Poltava Oblast. When Russia’s war against Ukraine started in 2014, Avramenko volunteered twice at the local military enlistment office, before finally being called up to the army. He’d been serving in the Donbas for almost a year when he was shot dead by a sniper near the village of Hranitne in Donetsk Oblast. “He died a couple of weeks before the end of his service. He even had plans for the time when he’d come home,” Avramenko’s friend, Ihor Datsenko, was quoted as telling local media.

March 2

Ihor Hryshechkin, 26, a soldier of the 3rd Battalion from Kherson Oblast. Hryshechkin was killed in Donetsk Oblast’s Krasnohorivka. He was the only son in his family.

March 4

Oleksandr Khmelyarov, 27, a soldier of the 73rd Marine Center for special operations. Khmelyarov, a native of Odesa Oblast, was a professional soldier. He was killed in a battle near the city of Dokuchayevsk in Donetsk Oblast in a firefight with a Russian-separatists special operations squad.

Yury Horaisky, 38, a soldier of the 73rd marine center for special operations. Horaisky was the head of a district administration in Ternopil Oblast. He worked there for almost 11 months and later volunteered to the army. He also used to deliver aid to the soldiers in the east. Horaisky was killed in a firefight near the city of Dokuchayevsk in Donetsk Oblast when Ukrainian soldiers spotted a Russian-separatists special operations squad. He leaves a wife and two daughters.

March 5

Andriy Yareshko, 52, the commanding officer of one of the battalions of the 58th Brigade. Yareshko, a Poltava city native, was badly wounded in shelling near the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Yareshko’s fellow soldier, Volodymyr Ivanov, recalled that they had been serving side-by-side for more than a year. “We were together over the course of 2014 in Luhansk and Donetsk, we walked thousands of kilometers together and dug a number of trenches. He’s an extremely brave serviceman. It’s a pity that I was not with him during his last minutes,” Ivanov was quoted as saying. Yareshko leaves a wife and a daughter in Poltava.