Ivan V. Kravchenko (Krava)

Junior Sergeant Ivan Kravchenko (call sign Krava) was killed on May 22, 2023, while defending the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. During the enemy shelling, a fragment of an enemy mine hit him in the head. The injury proved fatal. The warrior was forever 46 years old. Ivan was born in the village of Dzhulyn, Vinnytsia region. He graduated from the Haivoron Polytechnic College and the Kharkiv Institute of Communications. He was engaged in construction and repair. He was fond of woodwork and made tables. He participated in the ATO in Donbas. He was married. He lived with his family in Kyiv. Recently, he worked abroad. When the full-scale war began, Ivan was in Poland. On February 25, 2022, he returned to Kyiv and joined the local TRO. He served in the 128th battalion of the 112th separate brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He commanded a platoon. "Vanya defended the country even when the war was called the ATO. Brave, strong-willed, courageous, at the same time simple and cheerful. A true commander who knew how to rally his comrades-in-arms. They were behind him like a stone wall," said the wife of the deceased, Yulia. "Ivan was a jack of all trades. He was able to perform almost all construction work, made tables, boxes, chests... His wooden products will be a good memory of an incredibly talented person. Recently, Ivan, together with his wife Yulia and sons, was in Poland, worked and dreamed of his future. However, on February 24, 2022, the war crossed out all plans. At the call of his heart, Ivan returned to Ukraine and, taking up arms, went as a volunteer to defend the Motherland," wrote the deceased's fellow villager Ruslana Rudenko. The hero was buried at the Forest Cemetery in Kyiv. Ivan is survived by his wife, four sons, relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms.