Denys O. Stepanenko (Mielkyi)

Soldier Denis Stepanenko (call sign Melkiy) was killed on November 18, 2022 while performing a combat mission near the settlement of Antonivka in the Kherson region. The defender was 37 years old. Denis was born in the village of Glodosi, Kirovohrad region. After school, he obtained the profession of a mechanizer in a vocational school. He worked in a collective farm, then in the Glodossky Lyceum. In his free time, he loved to fish. On February 24, 2022, the man unhesitatingly went to defend his country from the Russian invaders. He fought as part of the 124th separate brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a crew member of the mortar platoon of the mortar battery of the 193rd battalion (military unit A7359). "A wonderful family man, a loving father," said the wife of the deceased. The defender was buried in his native village. At home, he was awaited by his mother Valentyna Mykolaivna, his wife Hanna, and four children: Vitalina, Sofiia, Anhelina, and Artem.