Dmytro S. Klochko (Malyi)

Soldier Dmytro Klochko (call sign Malyi) was killed on June 7, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission near the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. The defender received a fatal mine-explosive injury. He was 26 years old. Dmytro was born in the city of Pershotravensk, Dnipropetrovsk region. He graduated from the National Technical University "Dnipro Polytechnic". He worked at the Dniprovska mine as an underground equipment operator. He has been involved in sports since childhood and won the title of Ukrainian champion in taekwondo. Later, he founded a sports club "Patriot" at his hometown school, where he raised strong-willed children based on his experience and worldview. He also performed in a circus ensemble in his city. At the beginning of the full-scale war, in March 2022, the man was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. He was a rifleman-medic, a UAV operator, and a sniper of a mechanized unit. During his service, he was awarded the "Badge of Honor" and the honorary badge "Golden Cross". "My brother had many plans for the future. He loved life very much, always helped everyone, was caring and sensitive. He always dreamed of a child. In 2018, his daughter Dominika was born, his little copy, whom he loved more than anything, as she loved him. According to his comrades-in-arms, they lost a faithful friend and an experienced warrior who never left them in trouble. They still cannot recover from such a loss, because Dmytro became more than just a comrade-in-arms for them. After all, he always consciously defended his own, not with words, but with deeds," said the deceased's cousin Angelika. The warrior was buried in the Alley of Glory in his hometown. Dmytro is survived by his parents, two brothers, wife, daughter, and other relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms.