Ivan M. Tenetnyk (Tenet)

25-year-old Junior Sergeant Ivan Tenetnik (call sign Tenet) was killed on May 14, 2024 near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region. While carrying out a combat mission, while saving a comrade, he received fatal injuries as a result of enemy mortar shelling. Ivan was from the village of Kurin in the Chernihiv region. His childhood and schooling took place there. In 2019, he graduated from the Nizhyn Agrotechnical Institute with a degree in Management. He was active, had an insatiable thirst for everything new, so he was looking for himself in various areas of entrepreneurial activity and worked a lot. He set himself the goal of earning start-up capital to realize his dream - to engage in farming. At the time of the full-scale invasion, he was working as a taxi driver in Kyiv, but returned to his native village. He joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in April 2022, holding the position of a machine gunner in the rapid reaction group of the 30th Nizhyn Rifle Battalion. In December 2022, he was selected for service in the 214th specialized battalion "OPFOR" and moved from the Sumy region to the Donetsk region, where he fought until the last days. He took part in battles in the hottest areas of the front near Bakhmut and Avdiivka. During his service, Ivan was awarded an incentive badge of the Main Directorate of Intelligence "For Assistance to the Military Intelligence of Ukraine" of the II degree, the badge "Ground Forces of Ukraine", the honorary badges of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Golden Cross" and "Golden Cross. Oak Leaf Branch". "Tenet was a skilled sniper, believed in his cause. He was a reliable comrade and a faithful brother-in-arms, with whom it was an honor to go to the position. He was constantly busy with something and training, and jokingly forced and motivated us to do the same. He dreamed of his own farm and land cultivation. There are really few such warriors, and there will be no more," his comrades recall. "Ivan was always motivated and ready to fulfill the tasks assigned to him. He was one of the best snipers in the unit. While in the positions, he repeatedly shot down enemy drones that hovered over the military, and did not allow the enemy to conduct reconnaissance. As a squad leader, he was an example and an authority for his comrades-in-arms, as he always strived for self-improvement and development, trained the newly arrived personnel, and always shared his acquired experience. Until the last days of his life, Ivan was always ready to protect and defend his Homeland," his commander added. "Vanya never gave up," recalls his sister Iryna. "From the first day of the full-scale invasion, he tried to mobilize, received 3 refusals due to his young age. Then he went to the district military commissariat and joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He became a true hero and warrior, but kept his military achievements a secret from his family and friends. Although he is my younger brother, he will forever remain a great example of confidence in dreams and the ability to take risks on the way to their realization. He loved to read books and dreamed of a large library in his own home." The defender was buried in his native village. Ivan is survived by his parents and his sister.