Hryhorii-Haik D. Stepaniuk (Hryfon)

Paratrooper Hryhoriy-Haik Stepanyuk (call sign Hryffon) was killed on June 21, 2023, in battle on the eastern front. While carrying out a combat mission in the area of the village of Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region, he received fatal wounds. The warrior was forever 31 years old. Hryhoriy-Haik was born in Tiraspol (Moldova). In childhood, he moved with his family to Ukraine. He lived in the Khmilnytskyi region. After school, he studied at the Faculty of Law of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, where he was one of the best students. He had many hobbies: chess, archery, volleyball, football, athletics. He loved to travel. He was interested in history, archeology and geography, as well as finance and economics. During his military service, his interests expanded to include explosives, aerial reconnaissance and medicine. He constantly engaged in self-development and improved his knowledge. He wanted to master programming languages. Whatever he undertook, he always achieved success. Hryhoriy-Haik loved life and said it was beautiful. After graduating from the university, he moved to Kazakhstan, where he held managerial positions for 8 years. After the full-scale invasion of the Russian occupiers, the man returned to Ukraine and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He underwent military training in Britain. Later, he joined the ranks of the 79th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, where he held the position of senior rifleman. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he defended the Donetsk region. "He was the best and most loving man. We were each other's universe, we made plans and dreamed, we had our whole life ahead of us. He was supposed to be a wonderful father for our children. We got married a few months before his death. After the end of the war, we planned to get married in the Armenian Church in Lviv, but unfortunately we didn't have time. The farewell ceremony for Hryhoriy-Haik took place in this very church," said Olha-Nicole Tsapenko. The hero was buried in the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. He is survived by his wife Olha-Nicole, brother Serhiy with his wife Liliia and daughter Melaniya, brother Bohdan, grandmother Halyna, aunt Anastasia, her children Maksym, Ivan and Anna, uncle Serhiy, second mother Olena, aunts Hayane and Rozana, sister Naira and nieces Arine, Nune and Melineh, sister Anna and brother Armen, as well as many close people to whom he was like a relative. Posthumously, soldier Hryhoriy-Haik Stepanyuk was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.