Ivan S. Kostenko (Dzhon)

Combat medic Ivan Kostenko (call sign John) was killed on October 18, 2022, during a battle with the occupiers near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. During the enemy shelling, he was providing medical assistance to a comrade. The soldier was 29 years old. Ivan was born in Cherkasy. He studied at the local school No. 10. He graduated from the Vinnytsia National Medical University named after Mykola Pyrohov. He was passionate about music: he played the balalaika, guitar, and accordion. He was interested in psychology. He was engaged in rowing. From the first days of the full-scale war, the man joined the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" and went to the front line. In August, he was awarded a badge of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. "My son was a very kind and decent person. He deeply believed in God. He did not like injustice. He loved life and people," says the mother of the deceased, Iryna. "An incredibly great and terrible loss... A good, smart, reliable, positive person, always smiling, optimistic, a good friend of our family. He carried many comrades out of the battlefield, provided assistance to the last. He is a true Hero. Heroes do not die! Rest in peace, and in heaven, our Hero will be a true Angel! Eternal memory to you, Vanichka!" writes his friend Oksana Tomenko. "A very difficult and painful loss. Vanya was an excellent student, colleague, and master of his craft. He became a true hero for us and Ukraine... Heroes do not die. Rest in peace, dear Vanya," said Oksana Vlasenko. "Ivan was always smiling, cheerful, and purposeful. He was a wonderful athlete-rower, a soldier, a doctor. He saved others at the cost of his own life..." adds his fellow countryman Volodymyr Velykyi. Ivan was buried in his native Cherkasy. The serviceman left behind his parents. He did not have time to start his own family.