Dmytro O. Tkachenko (Rubin)

Senior Lieutenant Dmytro Tkachenko (call sign Ruby) was killed on August 29, 2022, near the village of Myrne in the Kherson region. During the offensive operation, he received fatal injuries as a result of enemy shelling. The officer was only 23 years old. Dmytro was born in the city of Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region. When the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, the young man was still in school. But it was then that he chose his future profession - to become a military man, to liberate his native Donbass. After finishing school, he entered the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny. In 2020, the young officer, after graduating, joined the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter March. He took the position of platoon commander and went to perform tasks in the area of the Joint Forces Operation - to defend Krasnohorivka and Mariinka in the Donetsk region. During the full-scale invasion, Dmytro was already the commander of the company and continued to fight side by side with his comrades against the occupiers. But he did not wait for the liberation of his small homeland. During his service, Dmytro was repeatedly awarded awards, including the "For Achievements in Military Service" III degree, the "Cossack Cross" III degree, the Order "For Courage" III degree, and posthumously - the Order "For Courage" II degree. "Dima was a loving son and husband, a true patriot of Ukraine, a brave and fair commander," said the officer's mother Nina. The hero was buried in the city of Kremenchuk, Poltava region, where he lived with his family since 2014. Dmytro left behind his parents and wife.