Dmytro I. Ponomarchuk (Budonyi, Litun)

Soldier Dmytro Ponomarchuk (call sign Budyonnyi) was killed on December 5, 2022 near the city of Toretsk in the Donetsk region. In an unequal battle with a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group under artillery, mortar, tank and drone fire, the fighter received a fatal wound. He was forever 42 years old. Dmytro was born and lived in Kyiv. He graduated from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute named after Igor Sikorsky. He was an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity, from where he went to defend Ukraine. He went through the hell of Debaltseve. Due to health reasons, he was demobilized in 2015. "He lived a rather simple life, was undemanding in everyday life, and was satisfied with little. But his eyes flamed up when the conversation turned to Ukraine. Having joined the Dnipro flotilla of the Ukrainian Cossacks, he sailed under sails and on oars to the Black Sea. He learned to live in the Cossack way. For over 20 years he was engaged in combat rescue. He knew how to survive in the wild. He loved horses very much, and the most wayward animals obeyed him. He mastered the art of horsemanship. He was afraid of heights, but to overcome his fear, he learned to jump with a parachute and fly on a hang glider. In his soul, Dmytro was a great dreamer and very sensitive to the beauty of nature. He reproduced these feelings in his paintings and sculptures," - this is how the deceased was described at the Kyiv Lyceum of Tax and Advertising Affairs No. 21. On February 24, 2022, Dmytro again took up the defense of Ukraine. He served in the 101st Brigade of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He participated in the defense of his native capital, then defended the Kyiv region, and later the northern border of Ukraine. After training in the UK, he went to defend the Donetsk region. There he accepted his last battle. Dmytro was buried at the Berkovetsky cemetery in Kyiv. The warrior is survived by his father Igor, mother Valentyna, relatives and many friends. The warrior was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.