Illia D. Kovtun (Dreik)

Senior soldier Illia Kovtun (call sign Drake) was killed on October 9, 2022 while performing a combat mission in the area of the village of Davydiv Brid in the Kherson region. The fighter was 22 years old.Illia was born in Khmilnytskyi. He stuwas killed at the Khmilnytskyi Cooperative Trade and Economic Institute, majoring in Trade. He worked for some time in a call center. Then he went to work abroad. In 2020, Illia signed a contract for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 131st separate reconnaissance battalion. He participated in the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas. During the full-scale Russian invasion, he continued to serve in the ranks of the 17th battalion of the 57th separate motorized infantry brigade named after the Kosh Otaman Kostya Hordiienko. At first he was a rifleman-assistant grenadier, and then he was appointed as a squad commander. He took part in the battles for Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk region, and later fought for the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. "Illia was the soul of the company, kind, sincere, always smiling. The only and the best son, a wonderful guy and a true friend. He lived a short but worthy life. Military service was Illia's independent and conscious choice. He believed that it was his duty to defend his native Motherland. His words: 'We did not choose this life, but we can change something.' The memory of him will live forever," said the deceased's girlfriend Tamara. The defender was buried on the Alley of Glory in his hometown. Illia is survived by his parents, a large loving family, a beloved one, friends and comrades-in-arms.