Andrii O. Shpak (Kapelan)

Soldier Andriy Shpak (call sign Kapellan) was killed on February 16, 2024 near the village of Synkivka, Kharkiv region. During the performance of a combat mission, he received a fatal explosive injury. In June, the defender would have turned 42 years old. Andriy was born in the city of Zaporizhia. After finishing school, he obtained the profession of a gas welder at a vocational school. He worked as a builder and a stoker. Every weekend he cooked at the campfire and treated everyone who wanted to. He organized summer camps for village children. He taught the boys who did not have a father how to build. He was a mentor to many. Before the full-scale invasion, he planted a lot of grapes. He made wine. He adored fishing, especially loved catching carp. With the beginning of the full-scale war, he volunteered, and in October 2022 he was mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of driver of the 13th battalion of the 95th separate airborne assault brigade. "I am the wife of the most loving, faithful, fair, beloved husband. He is the wings that were taken from me," said his wife Antonina. Andriy was buried in the village of Dniprelstan, Zaporizhia region, next to his grandmother, as he wished. The defender left behind a wife, son and daughter.