You're reading: Russia’s war against Ukraine: At least 2,936 soldiers killed

As many Western countries prepare to celebrate Christmas Day, Ukraine continues to count its killed and wounded, following a year in which Russia escalated its war against the country with deadly consequences.

In 2018, Ukraine lost at least 134 soldiers in the war-torn Donbas region, with the deadliest months being May (at least 17 casualties), August (18 reported casualties) and October (12 casualties), according to military and media reports.

The overall death toll for Ukrainian troops killed in action since hostilities began in 2014 has now reached 2,936.

According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, up to 43 civilians have been killed and 182 injured throughout the year, as of Dec. 16, 2018.

Since the war began, an estimated 10,500 lives have been lost on both sides, according to the Ukrainian government and the United Nations.

Among Ukraine’s soldiers killed in action this year were members of the Ukrainian National Guard, regular army troops and volunteer fighters. Two female soldiers were reported to have been killed in 2018, one of them was 19-year-old Olesya Baklanova, from the 92nd Brigade, killed in October.

Below, are the photos f Ukrainian soldiers who have been killed in action throughout the last three months of 2018.

Listed below are the names and service details of Ukrainian soldiers known to have been killed from October through the end of December.

October:

Oleksiy Vlodarskiy, 36, a soldier of the 53rd Brigade (a member of the 24th Aidar Battalion) from Zhytomyr Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in 2014 and later signed an enlistment contract. Vlodarskiy was killed near Krymske village in Luhansk Oblast when Russian-backed proxies shelled the Ukrainian army positions on Oct. 2. “I don’t know how to describe my pain,” a friend of Vlodarskiy, Serhiy Yurchenko wrote.“We lost our brother who was always cheerful and tireless. My heart if shattered from this loss.” Vlodarskiy leaves a brother and a sister.

Yuriy Feshko, 24, a soldier of the 72nd mechanized brigade from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Feshko signed an enlistment contract with the army in 2016. He took part in battles for Avdiyivka in spring 2016, one of the deadliest fights in the ongoing war. Feshko was fatally wounded in the chest at the so-called Svitlodarsk Bulge, north of the city of Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 9. “He was (like) my brother. He didn’t have fear, you could call him a father on our positions,” Feshko’s fellow soldier was quoted as saying in an interview to 24 TV station. “I trusted him like I would trust myself. We’re like a family here.” Feshko leaves his parents, a brother and a fiancée.

Roman Magas, 27, a soldier of the 223rd Missile Regiment from Lviv Oblast. He joined the professional army in 2015. Magas was killed as a result of a landmine explosion near Hranitne village in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 10. He leaves a wife and two children.

Serhiy Dronov, 20, a soldier of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. he signed an enlistment contract with the army in June 2016. Dronov was fatally wounded as a result of a landmine explosion near Hranitne village in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 10. He died on the way to hospital. Dronov leaves his parents.

Olesia Baklanova, 19, a soldier of the 92nd brigade from Luhansk Oblast. Baklanova signed a contract with the army as soon as she reached the age of 18.While at school, she volunteered to head a group that had been making camouflage nets for the soldiers. She was killed near one of the parts of Butivka mine between the city of Avdiyivka and occupied village of Spartak in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 10. “Lesya was always ready for combat,” Baklanova’s fellow soldier was quoted as saying. “And she even looked like a boy: she had a short haircut and the same uniform we all have.” Baklanova leaves parents in her native Luhansk Oblast.

Pavlo Stoyanskiy, 29, a soldier of the 14th Brigade from Mariupol. In 2016 he signed an enlistment contract with the army and joined the 1st Volyn Battalion. He served mainly in Luhansk Oblast near Stanytsya Luhanska positions. Stoyanskiy was killed by a sniper near Zolote-4 village in Luhansk Oblast on Oct. 10. He was an only child in his family. Stoyanskiy leaves a mother in Mariupol.

Anton Mospan, 26, a soldier of the 10th Assault Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in 2015 and decided to sign a contract with the army two years later. “For a long time (Anton) wanted to be a serviceman,” Mospan’s former fellow soldier from a city of Cherkasy Dmytro Buryan. “We met by chance last month – I saw him at our local railway station. He was in great shape, had a tattoo of a wolf on his shoulder. He smiled a lot. That’s how I will always remember him.” He was killed by a sniper near the village of Krymske in Luhansk Oblast on Oct. 15. Mospan leaves his parents and a brother.

Yulian Tsyhanko, 43, a commander of the Third Battalion of the 24th Brigade from Lviv. Before the war, Tsyhanko worked at the railway station fixing tracks. He volunteered to the army in 2014 and took part in the battles for the town of Shchastya in Luhansk Oblast. He demobilized in June 2015 but made it back to the army two months later. Together with his fellow soldiers Tsyhanko had fought for the villages of Krymske and Trokhizbenka in Luhansk Oblast until he was fatally wounded during his checkpoint duty near the village of Kriakhivka in Luhansk Oblast in November 2015. Since then, Tsyhanko had had more than 40 surgeries in 35 months. This fall, he returned from a treatment in Vienna, Austria but soon after he went into coma. “Yulian was different from others – he was a man of principles, very responsible and tough,” says Ihor Makukha, one of Tsyhanko’s commanders. “He loved his city and his friends and had a spirit of a warrior.” Tsyhanko died in Kyiv Military Hospital on Oct. 16. He was buried at Lychakivsky cemetery in Lviv.

Pavlo Bilik, 38, a soldier of the 28th Brigade from Chernivtsi Oblast. He signed a contract with the army in 2017. Bilik was killed near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 16. He leaves his parents and a daughter.

Andriy Boyko, 29, a soldier of the 1st Tank Brigade from Poltava Oblast. He was killed near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 16. Boyko leaves his parents in a town of Lubny in Poltava Oblast.

Oleksandr Ur, 33, a soldier of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade from Zakarpattya Oblast. Ur was an ethnic Hungarian but didn’t hesitate to join the Ukrainian army after the start of the Russia-instigated war against Ukraine. Ur took part in battles for Shyrokyno and Butivka mine near Donetsk. “I went to the army because I’m Ukrainian, I was the only one from my village to do so,” Ur was quoted as saying in the interview to TV Channel 5. “I saw the European Union from the window of my house [Ur lived in a village bordering Hungary] but never thought of leaving Ukraine. If everybody leaves then what? Somebody has to fight.” He was killed by a sniper near Volnovakha in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 23. Ur leaves a wife and a one-year-old daughter.

Dmytro Dariy, 47, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Chernivtsi Oblast. He was mobilized to the army in August 2014. He was killed by a sniper near the village of Krymske on Oct. 27. He leaves a mother.

November:

Ihor Goncharenko, 24, a soldier of the 72nd Brigade from Zhytomyr Oblast. He signed a contract with the army in spring 2016 and later was sent to the war zone. He was fatally wounded near the village of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 1. Goncharenko leaves a mother, step father and two brothers.

Maksym Pasichnyuk, 40, a soldier of the 14th Brigade. Pasichnyuk was born in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia. Since 1994, he lived in western Ukraine’s Lutsk. Pasichnyuk joined the army in June 2017. He was killed by a sniper near the town of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 4. He leaves a mother and a brother.

Ivan Vorobei, 19, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Chernihiv Oblast. He graduated from Shostka Vocational School and decided to join the army in August. Vorobei was fatally wounded near the villages of Krymske and Zholobok in Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 9 when the Russian-backed proxies opened fire on the Ukrainian army positions. Vorobei’s fellow soldier Yevhen Letyuka tried to pull his friend to the trenches but was also killed. Vorobei had served for just three months. He leaves his parents and a sister.

Yevhen Letyuka, 20, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Luhansk Oblast. He joined the army in 2016. Letyuka was killed when he tried to save his fellow soldier’s life – he tried to pull badly wounded Ivan Vorobei to the trenches when he was hit. He died near the villages of Krymske and Zholobok in Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 9. “He was a good fellow,” Svitlana Svetikova, a volunteer who lives in Luhansk Oblast. “When he was home for vacations he would always help people.” Letyuka was buried in his native village of Petropavlivka. He leaves a brother.

Yuriy Oliynyk, 43, a soldier of the 72nd Brigade from Poltava Oblast. Before the war he had worked at Kyiv’s road service. He first joined the army in 2014 and served with the 12th territorial defence battalion. Later he signed another contract with the army. He was killed as a result of a fougasse explosion, a mortar constructed by making a hollow in the ground and filling it with explosives and projectiles, near the village of Luhanske in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 10. “He was an experienced fighter and a very good man,” one of Oliynyk’s fellows Volodymyr Kukhar said. “He was always fond of hunting and was an amazing cook. All his commanders always evaluate his work high.” Oliynyk leaves a son, a daughter and two brothers, one of whom also served in the war zone.

Roman Selikhov, 42, a sniper trainer of the 169th Training Centre from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He grew up in a family of military – both his grandfather and his father were in the army. Selikhov was mobilizied to the army in 2015 and took part in battles for villages Vodyane, Opytne, Zentit and Butivka mine near the Russian-led forces occupied city of Donetsk. “He was the best commander and a real professional,” a soldier known by his nom de guerre Chekh was quoted as saying. Selikhov became a sniper trainer after he completed Canadain-Lithuanian sniper course in Ukraine. He was killed with soldier Yuriy Oliynyk as a result of a fougasse explosion near the village of Luhanske in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 10. “I will always remember you as a kind and fair person, as a role model for future generations,” Andriy Sarvira, former reconnaissance officer of the 81st Brigade. Selikhov leaves his parents, a wife and two daughters.

Vitaliy Onofreychuk, 37, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Chernivtsi. Onofreychuk was a professional serviceman: In 2001-2002 he took part in Kosovo International peacekeeping force. He served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces until 2006. Onofreychuk was called on duty again in January 2017. He was killed near the village of Novotoshkivske in Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 17. Onofreychuk leaves his parents.

Serhiy Harkusha, 28, a soldier of the 28th Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He worked in construction in Kyiv and then at local brick factory. He was killed with a shrapnel during his shift near the town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast. “Serhiy’s contract ended this yer, but he decided to continue it so that he could fight together with his fellow classmate, his close friend,” Lyudmyla Lyshchenko, village city head where Harkusha lived, told the reporters. Harkusha leaves his mom, stepfather, brother and a fiancee.

Serhiy Prodanyuk, 49, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Kirovohrad Oblast. He first joined the deminers group of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army led by Dmytro Yarosh in 2015. In 2017, he signed the contract with the regular army and joined the 10th brigade. On Nov. 29, he reported to be missing after his group finished clearing the territory near the village of Krymske in Luhansk Oblast. Prodanyuk was ambushed by a group of Russia-led proxies. He was killed while repelling the attack. Russia-led forces on Dec. 5 returned to the Ukrainian authorities the body of a Ukrainian soldier, who turned out to be Serhiy Prodamyuk, who died in battle on Nov. 29. “We lost one more soldier, friend and compatriot,” Anna Ruymina, one of the volunteers helping military wrote on her Facebook page. “He lost his life defending our land.”

December:

Bohdan Khlivniy, 25, a soldier of the 14th Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He signed an enlistment contract with the army in September 2016. He was killed by a sniper near the village of Novozvanivka in Luhansk Oblast on Dec. 4. “We studied at the same school,” Khlivniy’s classmate Mykyta Osipenko told Channel 5 reporters. “He was always cheerful, had lots of plans. But he went to the war zone so that everyone of us could live peacefully.”

Oleksandr Kolomiyets, 29, a soldier of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. “He was cheerful, never argued with anyone and was the life of the party.We’ll seek revenge for his death,” his fellow soldiers from the 128th brigade posted. He was killed when the Ukrainian army exchanged fire with the Russia-led forces near the city of Mariupol on Dec. 7.

Viktor Kuropyatnyk, 45, a soldier of the 79th Brigade from Kirovohrad Oblast. He served in the marine corps in 2015. “He was a good man, cheerful and easy-going,” his former fellow soldier Taras Chmut was quoted as saying. Kuropyatnyk signed a new contract with the army two months before his death. He was killed by a sniper near the village of Hnutove in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 13. Kuropyatnyk leaves a wife and three sons.

Vladyslav Prostyakov, 22, a soldier of the 79th Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He joined the army in 2016. He was badly wounded near Hnutove village in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 13. He died later in Mariupol military hospital. Prostyakov leaves his parents.

Denys Loshkariov, 39, a soldier of the Donbas Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard from Kherson. He was active in political life of his city, was a EuroMaidan Revolution participant in Kherson and also joined a local self-defense group in spring 2014 after Russian annexation of Crimea peninsula. He signed a contract with the National Guard in 2015. Loshkariov was killed near Hnutove village in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 15. “For Kherson, he will always be one of the symbols of the local Maidan [the protest movement in 2013-2014] and one of the most well-known compatriots we had. He died like a true fighter,” historian Pavlo Podobyed wrote. Loshkariov leaves a wife, two sons and a daughter.

Oleksiy Hrebenyuk, 49, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Sumy Oblast. Hrebenyuk fought in Afghanistan in the end of the 1980s. In 2015, he was mobilized to the army and served for two year. He returned back to the war zone in June 2017. He was badly wounded on Nov. 7 and transported to Kharkiv military hospital and then to the main Kyiv military hospital. Since then, he never regained consciousness. He died on Dec. 17. Hrebenyuk leaves a wife, a son and a daughter.

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