Ivan Yu. Varha (Varhot)

Senior Sergeant Ivan Varga (call sign Varhot) was killed on August 26, 2023 near the village of Andriivka in the Donetsk region. While rescuing a wounded comrade, he sustained shrapnel wounds during enemy mortar fire. The warrior was forever 54 years old. Ivan was born in the village of Dunkovytsia, Zakarpattia region. After finishing school, he obtained an engineering and technical specialty at the Mukachevo Vocational and Technical Lyceum. In civilian life, he worked as an architect-builder, building churches. He loved his life and always helped people. With the start of the full-scale invasion, he could not stand aside and voluntarily joined the ranks of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, holding the position of mortar platoon gunner in the fire support company of the 2nd Assault Battalion. "My father was an extraordinarily kind and sincere person. He loved this life and never feared death. He said: 'I am here so that your sleep is peaceful.' With dedication and honor, he went voluntarily to defend our country from the enemy. He was the best father in the world, and the comrade he saved from death will remember him all his life. There is not a single day when I do not remember the price of our freedom, nor a single night when my mother and I do not cry. His memory will always live in our hearts," his daughter Inna said. Ivan was buried in his native village. He left behind a mother, wife, and daughter. Ivan Varga was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree. On October 13, 2024, a memorial plaque in his honor was installed on the facade of the school in the village of Dunkovytsia, where the warrior studied.