Denys Yu. Mykhailov (Mishania)

36-year-old Major Denis Mikhaylov (call sign Mishanya) was killed in action on May 26, 2022, while performing a combat mission near the city of Lysychansk, Luhansk region. The officer was conducting a rotation when Ukrainian defenders came under mortar fire. The defender never returned to the base. Denis was born and lived his whole life in the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk region. He graduated from the Kyiv Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Since 2008, he has served in the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine. He went from an ordinary serviceman to the first deputy commander - chief of staff of the rifle battalion with KEO and OGP of the 15th separate Slavyansk brigade. In his free time, he loved to go fishing. When the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, Denis defended the city and was captured by militants. Thanks to the decisive actions of the NGU units, he was released within a day. The officer continued to defend his native Luhansk region throughout the war years. From the first day of the large-scale Russian invasion, he again stood up to defend Ukraine and his native city. In March, he received the rank of major. "Denis was a very kind and good person. He was always sensitive to someone else's grief, always helped everyone. He was very responsible and disciplined," his wife Yulia said. "Denis desperately defended his native land, was a brave and worthy person, loved and respected by his comrades. An extremely kind and benevolent person with a golden heart and a good soul, a brave warrior, a true Hero - an example for all of us," the Rubizhne City Council noted. The officer was buried in the Alley of Glory of the cemetery in the village of Zaturyne, Poltava region. Denis is survived by his mother Vera and wife Yulia.