Ihor O. Kotsiar

Born on March 19, 1994, in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. During his studies at Dnipropetrovsk Specialized School with in-depth study of tourist and local history disciplines No. 119, Ihor was passionate about sports tourism and won prizes in local history competitions. In 2013, he graduated from Dnipropetrovsk Vocational School No. 17 (specializing in "Carpenter"), in the fall of that year he was drafted for compulsory military service, which he served in the Kryvyi Rih Separate Special Motorized Brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the events of the Revolution of Dignity, in the winter of 2013-2014, he carried out tasks to protect public order on the streets of the capital, receiving injuries in the process. As a serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine, as part of a unit, he participated in the anti-terrorist operation in the Donbas for over a month, demonstrating courage, conscientiousness, friendliness to his comrades, and loyalty to his military oath. On July 23, during the battles to liberate Lysychansk, he received fatal injuries… In May 2015, near the city of Lysychansk, a monument was solemnly opened at the site of the death of Major General O. Radiyevsky, Colonel P. Snitsar, and soldier I. Kotsyar. Ihor's mother, Svitlana Mykolaivna Kotsyar: "I understand that he is a hero, that he defended the Motherland. But we miss our son so much. There is no strength. A year has passed, but it feels like it happened yesterday - I remember every word of his, every conversation with him. I remember how I begged him not to go. And he answered: "Mom, I don't want there to be war here." He really wanted to return as a liberator. He said that we would definitely win…".