You're reading: At least 900 soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine

As world awaits the results of NATO summit in Wales that started Sept. 4 with a focus on Ukraine crisis, nation’s army keep fighting local insurgents backed by Russian regular army in Ukraine’s east. Recently the alliance reported about 3,000 Russian combat troops and hundreds of armoured vehicles inside Ukraine.Note: Previous version of this article contained a mistake. The Kyiv Post picked up the wrong photo of Ukrainian servicemen Oleksiy Shepelyuk. We thank our readers for being attentive and acknowledging the mistake. We sincerely apologize to the family of Oleksiy Shepelyuk.

The bloodiest day for Ukrainian army came on Aug. 29 when more than 100
people, mostly the members of volunteer battalions, were killed in
corridor offered by Russian troops near Ilovaisk in Donetsk Oblast.

Some
837 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 3,044 wounded during the
start of Russian invasion in mid-April, according to official figures.
The Kyiv Post count is higher and goes for 900 killed Ukrainian
troopers.

The
following is the list of those known to be killed from Aug. 20 until Sept. 1:

Aug. 20

Oleksandr Utkin, 44, Donbas Battalion member from
Chernihiv Oblast. He was killed during the fight for Ilovaisk city in
Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 20.

Artem Kuziakov, 34, Donbas Battalion
member from Sumy. He was deployed to the country’s east in May and was
killed during the amush near Ilovaisk city. Kuziakov leaves a wife and
13-year-old daughter in his native hometown.

Anatoliy Nikolaenko was known by his nom-de-guerre Karat was wounded
in the fight with Russia-backed insurgents and died during the attack
on the bus that was transporting wounded servicemen to the hospital in
Donetsk Oblast.

Stanislav Lishchynskiy, 25, soldier from Kryviy Rih in
Dnipropettrovsk Oblast. He was killed near Ilovaisk on Aug. 20.
Lishchynskiy leaves his parents and a fiancé.

Mykola Shpynda
, 36,
soldier from western Ukraine. He was serving in 24th mechanized brigade
in Lviv Oblast and was killed by Russia-backed insurgents.

Denys Chasoviy, 22, soldier from Poltava Oblast. He was killed during the shelling near Luhansk airport.

Eduard Danilov
, 46, captain from Rivne Oblast. He leaves a daughter and a wife in his native Dubno town.

Andriy Snitko, 18, Azov Battalion member. Snitko was a second-year
student of Lutsk University, but decided to join Ukrainian army in May.
He died trying to rescue his comrades as he shielded himself over the
grenade. Snitko’s death was immediate.

Oleh Aksionenko, 20, Azov Battalion member from Luhansk. He was
wounded in fight for Ilovaiask city in Donetsk Oblast and died later
that day.

Hennadiy Kuts, 23, trooper from Chernihiv Obalst. He was killed in fight in Donetsk Oblast.

Serhiy Bilous, 39, soldier from 24th briade from Lviv Oblast. He was
killed days before his 40th birthday. His compatriots recalled he was
kind and fair man and decided to join the army to defend his three
children. Bilous was killed near Heorhiivka village in Luhansk Oblast.
He was mourned on Ukraine’s Independence Day. His comrades told he could
have been alive, but didn’t have a chance to out a bulletproof vest
because of a sudden attack.

Oleh Mikhnyuk, 49, commander of Afghan unit of Aidar Battalion from
Chernihiv. Mikhnyuk was an active EuroMaidam Revolution supporter and
spent most of his time training young people. He was killed near
Krasndon village in Luhansk Oblast when Russia-backed insuregnts started
shelling Ukrainian troops’ positions.

Ruslan Dzhuzha,
soldier from Chernihiv Oblast. He used to serve in
13th battalion was killed in fight in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves his
parents in his native Maksym village in Chernihiv Oblast.

Oleh
Biryuk
, 38, aircraft instructor from Sumy Oblast.  Biryuk’s friends
recall he wanted to become a pilot since his childhood and spent his
first money he earned as a schoolchild for a helicopter model. He was
deployed to the country’s east in March and was killed when
Russia-backed insurgents shot down Ukrainian MI-24 military aircraft
with two members aboard near Heorhiivka village in Luhansk Oblast.

Aug. 21

Serhiy Lymar, 25, Ukraine’s National
Guard soldier from Poltava. He was killed when insurgents started
shelling Ukraine’s settlements with Grad launchers in Staroignativka
village in Donetsk Obalst. Lymar leaves his parents and a sister.

Oleksiy Verbytskiy, 25, mechanic driver from Sumy Oblast. Verbytskiy
was on guard when insurgents opened fire on his car. He managed to
rescue his wounded comrade when the shell-splinter hit him. Verbytskiy’s
friend recalled he wasn’t afraid to go to the country’s east and called
his parents every day and “never complained about the service
conditions.”

Andriy Eremenko
, 35, lietenant from Kyiv. He used to work for Kyiv
National Polytechnic institute and planed to start working on his
dissertation after the war. He was mobilized to the army in March and
was killed during the shelling in Starohnativka village in Donetsk
Oblast. Eremenko lives his wife and 10-year-old son in Kyiv.

Vitaliy Hoponko
, 26, soldier from Zakarpattya Oblast. Hoponko used
to serve in 128th mechanized brigade and was killed in fight for Luhansk
airport on Aug. 21.

Kostyantyn Lukianyuk,
20, soldier from 24th
mechanized brigade from Chernivtsi Oblast. He was killed at the
checkpoint in Luhansk Oblast. His comrades recalled he never thought of
going home after five months he spent in the war zone because “he didn’t
want to leave his comrades.” Lukianyuk leaves his parents and brother.


Serhiy Kotoviy
, 26, soldier from Kirovohrad. He volunteered to join
the army when mobilization starts. Kotoviy was killed trying to rescue
his wounded comrade during the shelling in Ilovaisk. He leaves his
paretns and a sister.

Hennadiy Kipishynov
, 38, soldier from Kherson Oblast. He didn’t
hesitate to join the army when mobilization started. Kspishynov died
during the shellin near Ilovaisk. He lives a wife and two children.

Serhiy
Onchurov
, lieutenant from 28th mechanized brigade from Dzhankoi,
Crimea. He was killed when insurgent opened fire from Uragan multiple
launcher near Starobesheve village in Donetsk Oblast.

Ihor Khinev
, 30, deputy commander of the 28th mechanized brigade
from Odesa Oblast. He shielded his two younger comrades and was killed
by shell-splinter that hit him.

Vadym Yuzvinskiy, 40, sergeant-major from Zhytomyr Oblast. He leaves his wife and three children in his native Horodnytsia town.

Serhiy Pryimak
, 25, soldier from Volyn Oblast. He was mobilized to
the army in April and used to guard the headquarters for technical
equipment in Zaporizhzhiya Oblast and later was deployed to Donetsk
Oblast. He was mortally wounded during the fight near the Mariinka
checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast.

Artur Fihurskiy
, 27, soldier from Mykolaiv Oblast. He used to reapir
damaged vehicles. He died because of wounds in the hospital. Fihurskiy
leaves a wife and two children.

Oleh Voitenko
, 36, gunner from
Kyiv Battalion. He was wounded and died some hours later in Shastia
village in Luhansk Oblast. His friends didn’t believe that Voitenko is
dead. “He was cheerful and talkative. I didn’t believed the news until
my friend confirmed that,” one of Voitenko’s friends, Liliya Titor
posted to his Facebook page.

Aug. 22

Dmytro Borovyk
, 26, Kyiv Battalion
member. Borovyk used to work for as locomotive operator in Kyiv metro,
but then volunteered to the army in spring. His collegues recalled he
was cheerful and friendly and followed his father’s example who also
worked as an operator. Borovyk died during the shelling in Luhansk.

Maksym Andreichenko
, driver from Chernihiv Oblast. He was killed near Bile village in Luhansk Oblast when the shell hit his APC.

Mykola
Lushchyk,
38, gunner from Chernihiv Oblast. He used to work as a
tractor operator in his native town. He deis near Bile village in
Luhansk Oblast when the shell hit his APC. Lushchyk leaves his mother
and two younger brothers.

Kyiv Post+ is a special project covering Russia’s war against Ukraine and the aftermath of the EuroMaidan Revolution.

Aug. 23

Oganes Petrosian, 41, Aidar Battalion
member. Petrosian was an active EuroMaidan Revolution supporter and
volunteered to the battalion month before his death. His group spotted
of insurgents near Severodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast. The terrorists uged
them to give up, but battalion members opened fire. Petrosian was killed
trying to shield his comrade. He leaves a wife and a teenage daughter.

Vasyl Andriyuk, 51, Aidar Battalion member from Kosiv in Ivano
Frankivsk Oblast. He was shot by the sniper in Luhansk Oblast. “Vasyl
died for all of us hoping that we’ll never face all those massacre we
saw in the east of the country,” his comrade, Roman Hrychanyuk said
during the mourning. Andriyuk leaves a wife and two children.

Volodymyr Boiko, 29, Aidar Battalion member from Zhytomyr Oblast. He leaves a wife and two children in his native Yarun town.

Oleksandr Rusak, 23, Azov Battalion member from Dnipropetrovsk. He was killed during the fight for Ilovaisk in Donetsk Oblast.

Volodymyr Pushkaruk, 42, Donbas Battalion member from Volyn Oblast. He leaves a wife and three children.

Oleksandr
Yarysh
, 44, Ukraine’s National Guard soldier from Mykolaiv. He was
killed near Lysyche village in Donetsk Oblast when insurgents opened
fire on Ukrainian APC.

Oleh Babkevych, 40, senior soldier of Ukrainian National Guard from
Mykolaiv Oblast. He leaves a wife and three children in his native
Oleksandrivka village. He was killed near Lysyche village in Donetsk
Oblast when insurgents opened fire on Ukrainian APC.

Aug. 24

Vadym Rudnytskiy, policeman from Zhytomyr
Oblast. He used to serve in Storm special police unit in Odesa.
Rudnytskiy, a former peacekeeper, was killed during the shelling near
Heorhiivka village in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves a wife and 8-year-old
daughter.

Stepan Petrivskiy, 22, policeman from Lviv Oblast. Petrivskiy planed
to graduate Lviv National Ivan Franko University this year, but
volunteered to the army. He was killed during the shelling near
Heorhiivka village in Luhansk Oblast.

Aug. 25

Ruslan Storcheus, 35, policeman from
Kherson. He was an active EuroMaidan Revolution supporter and
volunteered to join Kherson special police unit. He was appointed the
commander of the unit and then deployed to the east in May. He leaves a
wife and three children.

Oleh Peshkov, 43, Kherson special police unit driver. He was killed
when Russia-backed insurgents opened fire on his car in Donetsk Oblast.
He leaves a wife and two children.

Evhen Pikus, 34, border guard
from Vinnytsia. His twin brother Mykhailo recalled they wanted to
enroll in the army since their childhood. The brothers followed their
father’s example and became professional servicemen. Mykhailo recalled
he spoke to his brother some 20 minutes and warned him about Russian
troops.   “I lost my brother, now nothing makes sense,” Mykhailo Pikus
was quoted as saying. Pikus was killed in Luhansk Oblast near Russian
border.

Oleh Sorochenko, 21, border guard. He was patrolling Ukrainian
border and was killed during the fight with Russia-backed insurgents
near Krasna Talivka in Luhansk Oblast.

Andriy Bezruchak, 33,
soldier from 28th mechanized brigade. Bezruchak was killed when
Russia-backed insurgents opened fire using Grad launcher near
Starobesheve in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and two children.

Ihor Betsa
, 36, soldier from Ivano Frankivsk Oblast. Betsa used to
serve in 51st mechanized brigade and was killed in fight for Ilovaisk in
Donetsk Oblast.

Aug. 26

Oleksiy
Shepelyuk
, soldier from 51st mechanized brigade from Volodymyr
Volynskiy. He was killed in fight with Russia-backed insurgents near
Ilovaisk in Donetsk Oblast.

Serhiy Buhaichuk, 25, soldier from Volyn Oblast. Buhaichuk’s unit
was encircled near Ilovaisk where the insurgents opened fire using Grad
launcher.

Anatoliy Shylik, captain of 51st mechanized brigade from Volodymyr Volynskiy. He leaves a wife and two children.

Aug. 27

Taras Pazyn, 25, soldier from Lviv Oblast. Pazyn used to serve in 24th mechanized brigade.

Aug. 28

Oleh
Doha
, Ukraine’s National Guard soldier from Mykolaiv Oblast. He was
killed in an ambush near Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife
and 7-year-old daughter.

Mykola Matvienko
, National Guard soldier from Kyiv Oblast. He was killed in an ambush near Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast.

Aug. 30

Iliya
Idel,
26, Aidar Battalion member from Cherkasy Oblast. He was mortally
wounded in fight with Russian militants near Luhansk. Idel leaves a wife
and 6-year-old daughter.

Aug. 31

Volodymyr Kostyuk, 33, commander of
73th special marine unit from Kolomya town in Ivano Frankivsk Oblast. He
was killed in Ilovaisk during the shelling.

Evhen Ivanov, 28,
soldier from Zaporizhzhiya Oblast.  He was killed during the shelling
near Mariupol. Ivanov leaves a wife and 6-year-old daughter.

Sept. 1

Oleh Bakulmanov, 50, a member of Praviy Sector volunteer unit.

Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected]