Andrii P. Slopak

Soldier Andrii Slopak died on July 4, 2023, in a Kyiv hospital. On June 8, he sustained serious injuries while carrying out a combat mission in the area of the village of Mala Tokmachka, Zaporizhia region. On August 16, he would have turned 32 years old. Andrii was born in the village of Koblo, Lviv region. In childhood, he moved with his family to the city of Truskavets. There he graduated from Gymnasium No. 2. He then served his compulsory military service. As a child, he was involved in freestyle wrestling, but had to quit due to an injury. However, he continued running. He was interested in fishing, football, and numismatics. He loved to pick mushrooms, go for walks in nature, and travel. The man first went to war in 2014. He took part in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. He fought in the battles for Debaltseve and Ilovaisk. After a year, he was demobilized. From 2016 to 2019, he worked in the Drohobych District Police Department of the Lviv region. At the same time, he studied at the Rivne Vocational School of the Police Protection Department. Then he worked for some time as a metalworker, driver, and construction worker. Before the invasion, he was working in Poland. When the full-scale war began, Andrii went to the front for the second time. He served in the engineering and sapper battalion of the 703rd separate regiment of the operational support of the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His unit carried out tasks in the combat zone: conducted mining on the line of contact and demining of the liberated territories. During his entire service, the soldier received the following awards: "For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation", "Participant of the Anti-Terrorist Operation", "For the Defense of the Homeland", "War Veteran", and posthumously - the Order of Courage of the III degree. "Andrii was always an example of patriotism and motivated others - he never doubted Ukraine's victory. His smile charged everyone with positivity, he was cheerful, sincere, and hardworking. He never refused to help people. Above all, he loved his son Tymofii, so he could not but protect the children who suffered from the war. He dreamed of living in a free country, starting his own business, wanted a big family, dreamed of a daughter, dreamed of building his own house. He always said that everything was fine with him, that nothing would happen to him, that he would return home. On June 8, 2023, Andrii was seriously wounded, and he was conscious for only 3 days. All those days he was strong, tried not to show his pain, and wanted to return to his comrades, but his injuries did not leave him a chance to live... My heart breaks with pain when I remember his smile and sincere eyes. It's so hard without him. I'm still waiting for his call. His son asks where his dad is, and I say: he's collecting stars in the sky to be happy. He's not even three years old yet, and he wants to fly to the sky and find his dad. Because he doesn't want the stars, he wants his dad," said the fallen warrior's wife, Marta. Andrii was buried in his native village of Koblo. The defender left behind his parents, wife, son, relatives, friends, and comrades.