Eduard V. Holenok (Dnister)

45-year-old paramedic Edward Holenok (call sign Dnister) was killed on August 6, 2022, sustaining fatal injuries during a massive mortar and artillery shelling. He was defending a position near the village of New York in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region. Edward was born in the city of Kakhovka in the Kherson region. As a child, he moved with his parents to the city of Novodnistrovsk in the Chernivtsi region. He obtained a profession as an electrician at the Vinnytsia Technical Vocational College. He also mastered the profession of a construction crane operator. He engaged in industrial mountaineering and aikido. By calling, he was a musician, poet, and artist. He wrote poetry and music—his creative output consists of over 600 pieces. In peacetime, he worked at the Novodnistrovsk Hydroelectric Power Plant, at "Krymenergo," and "Kyivenergo." In 2014, he lived with his family in Crimea. After the occupation of the peninsula, he moved to the city of Ukrainka in the Kyiv region. When the full-scale invasion began, he was in Kyiv and volunteered for the territorial defense of the Holosiivskyi district of the city. He participated in the defense of the region, particularly in the battle for the village of Moschun. He then decided to continue defending his homeland in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He trained in the United Kingdom, where he underwent assault training. He served in the 5th Separate Assault Brigade. He was awarded the distinction of the Mayor of Novodnistrovsk "For Honor and Courage." "Our first battle was one against two. The village of Moschun, 10 kilometers from Kyiv. I received a combat order with the platoon to advance to the village and take up defense. Ed, along with another fighter, went ahead as a scout. We had managed to get to know each other well by that time. Ed was someone you could rely on. We had a battle where we did everything right and came out without losses. In our free time, Ed played the ukulele for us; those were unforgettable evenings. We were probably always more friends than commander and subordinate. We all entered New York together; we were given the defense area, the previous unit left, and we figured things out on the spot. Ed was one of those who never said he didn't want to do something. He was always the first to join in. It so happened that the first loss I was informed about was Edik. It was very hard. He was in armor, with a weapon, in the very first trench. There were constant mortar shellings... We miss him very much," said the company commander, now deputy commander Oleksiy Tarasenko. Ed's comrades say he was a reliable person, helping with training and preparation for those in need. "We met in the territorial defense, first went to the post 'Brama-1' with him, and until his death, we always stood side by side. We were together in Britain, traveled together to Moschun. When he was gone, part of us went too. But we always remember him; he is always in our hearts," said a comrade with the call sign Tarzan. "He lived to create. He died so that others could live and create," said Ed's friend Andriy Havryliuk. "Ed was a born musician, poet, and artist, a person of strong feelings and heightened emotions. He always saw the world in all its beauty and tragedy. He was also a very devoted warrior, caring for everyone in the unit. Even during rest while recovering after the hardest days in Moschun, he continued to study tactical medicine and combat tactics, methods for detecting tripwires. He loved life, nature, creativity, and his loved ones very much. He dreamed of liberating his native Kherson region and Crimea, which he also loved very much. He did not leave his position until the end. Ed gave his life for Ukraine. He is a hero," added his wife, Oleksina Dorohan. Edward was buried in Novodnistrovsk, the city where his relatives live. He is survived by his wife, stepson, parents, sister, and nephew.