Ivan A. Smohorzhevskyi (Makhno)

Junior Sergeant Ivan Smogorzhevskiy (call sign Makhno) was killed on May 12, 2022, in the area of the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhia region. He sustained fatal injuries during an artillery shelling while fighting the enemy. The defender was 30 years old. Ivan was born in the village of Kotlyarka in the Zhytomyr region. He was educated as a car mechanic but worked in sales. He was passionate about reading and studying the history of Ukraine. He dreamed of becoming a professional military man. From 2015 to 2016, he served in the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade and participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). However, due to injuries sustained, he had to leave the service. In 2019, he got married and moved to the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. His last place of work in civilian life was the store "Obnova Euroshop." On February 25, 2022, he returned to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and his 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade. He commanded a unit in the fire support company. “Ivan was a very brave, strong person. Honest, genuine, and fair. He cared deeply for his family, valued, and looked after everyone. His son became an even greater inspiration for him; he dreamed of a daughter whom he would name Maria. On February 24, 2022, without hesitating for a second, he stood up to defend his homeland and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, understanding that the war could spread across all of Ukraine if the aggressor was not stopped in time,” said his wife, Tetiana. The soldier was buried at the Alley of Glory in the "Sukhyi Yar" cemetery in Bila Tserkva. At home, his parents, brother, wife, and son, who was 2.5 years old at the time of his father's death, were waiting for the hero. Posthumously, Ivan was awarded the Order of "For Courage" of the III degree. He was also posthumously granted the title of "Honorary Citizen of the City of Bila Tserkva." On January 19, 2024, a memorial plaque was installed on the facade of the Kotlyarska Gymnasium in honor of the fallen graduate. In the defender's native village, the street was renamed in his honor to Гагаріна Street.