Dmytro O. Bakotskyi (Baka)

Soldier Dmytro Bakotskyi (call sign Baka) was killed in action on June 20, 2022, in a battle with the occupiers in the area of the village of Vovchoyarivka in Luhansk region. The warrior was 36 years old. Dmytro was born in the village of Shuliaky, Chernihiv region. From childhood, he lived in the village of Mokrets, Kyiv region. He finished school there. In 2005, he received the profession of an assistant electric locomotive driver at the Kyiv Higher Professional Railway Transport School. He worked as a builder. In his free time, he was engaged in sports. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Dmytro decided to defend Ukraine. He joined the 242nd battalion of the 241st separate brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "Baka came to us in February 2022, when we were strengthening our positions at the entrance to Kyiv, and offered his help. At that time, strong hands were catastrophically lacking, and the guy turned out to be physically strong and resilient, he helped us a lot, because we were exhausted by shifts and almost didn't sleep. When we more or less closed the positions, Baka asked if he could also get a weapon: "I don't know how to shoot, but I'm ready to learn and defend the Motherland!". That's how he became a fighter of our unit," said a comrade-in-arms with the call sign Lifa. "Dima was very calm and never refused to work. During the formation of the company that was supposed to go on combat missions, he agreed to go without hesitation. Unfortunately, this trip was his first and last...", added a comrade-in-arms Vedomiy. While carrying out a combat order, Dmytro, on June 20, 2022, as part of the unit, moved to a position in the area of the village of Vovchoyarivka in Luhansk region. At some point, the occupiers opened powerful artillery fire on the position of the Ukrainian defenders. One of the shells hit the trench where Baka was. "Calm, kind, loved life, purposeful, hardworking. Loved his family. My son is the best, my son is a Hero," added the mother of the fallen warrior Lyudmyla Mykhailivna. Dmytro was buried in the village of Mokrets, Kyiv region. At home, his mother was waiting for the defender. Posthumously, soldier Dmytro Bakotskyi was awarded the Order "For Courage" of the III degree.