Andrii S. Stepanets

Junior Sergeant Andrii Stepanets (call sign Siabr) was killed on July 7, 2024, during enemy artillery shelling near the village of Andriivka in Donetsk region. The warrior was 26 years old. The defender was born in the village of Karpylivka in the Rivne region. After graduating from school, he received higher education at the Kremenets Regional Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy named after Taras Shevchenko. In 2020, he joined the National Police of Ukraine, taking the position of a police officer in the RPP POP "Ternopil". The warrior's path began in 2020 - together with his unit, he carried out tasks in the ATO / JFO zone. With the start of the full-scale war, he joined the volunteer battalion "Carpathian Sich", took part in battles in the area of the settlements of Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, Stoyanka in the Kyiv region, and later in defensive actions on the approaches of the enemy to Barvinkove, Virnopillia, Izium in the Kharkiv region. In June 2022, he became a serviceman of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar". He held the position of commander of the battery command and artillery reconnaissance section. He took part in the liberation of the Kharkiv region in 2022, in the defense of Bakhmut and Soledar. "Even from his student years, Andrii was a passionate youth activist, in particular a member of the youth public organization "Sokil Svobody" (the Ternopil branch of the All-Ukrainian Union "Sokil), engaged in national-patriotic upbringing and training of youth. My brother was the best, sensitive, kind, fair, had honor and conscience, was very patriotic, a nationalist, a person with his own position. Handsome, loved sports, with a brilliant sense of humor, our whole family adored him, with him it was impossible to be bored. He was interested in everything - from politics to economics, he had a lot of plans for this life, but went to protect all of us, became a warrior, because he loved Ukraine more than anything and wanted to live here - in independent sovereign Ukraine," said the warrior's sister Viktoriia. For his service, Andrii Stepanets had a number of awards, including: the award of the Kyiv City Mayor - the badge "For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv", the award of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - the badge "Golden Cross", the award of the First Deputy Chairman of the Ternopil Regional Council "For personal courage, displayed patriotism and indomitability in the defense of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine". The defender was buried in his native village. Andrii is survived by his parents, stepfather, brother and sisters.