Andrii O. Kovalenko (Barmen)

Soldier Andrii Kovalenko (call sign Barman) was killed on September 30, 2023, while performing a combat mission near the village of Klishchiyivka in the Donetsk region. He sustained fatal injuries during a mortar shelling. On September 10, the defender turned 39 years old. Andrii was a native of the village of Slobozhanske in the Kharkiv region. After finishing school, he obtained the profession of a driver-tractor operator at a vocational school in the village of Rokytne. Later, he worked at the Kharkiv Transport Equipment Plant. He was passionate about cars. During the full-scale war, the man joined the ranks of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodny Yar" and went to the front. He held the position of driver-radio operator. "Andrii was always the soul of any company: family, circle of friends. He always supported his loved ones. I will be proud of him for the rest of my life, until my last days. He saved his comrades, which means he is a Hero," said the deceased's goddaughter Darya Trutaieva. Andrii was buried in his native village. He is survived by his parents, sister, wife, daughter, niece, and goddaughter.