Maksym O. Rybetskyi (Ryba)

Sergeant Maksym Rybetskyi (call sign Fish) died on December 14, 2023, near the village of Ternі in the Donetsk region. He sustained a fatal explosive head injury while carrying out a combat mission. The warrior was 24 years old. Maksym was born in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. In 2014, he graduated from local gymnasium No. 3. At school, he was a favorite of many because he studied very well, practiced judo, chess, and football. In 2014-2016, he studied at the Nizhyn Lyceum at Nizhyn Gogol State University, where he was also remembered by everyone for his sociability, charisma, artistry, creativity, and sports achievements. Maksym knew how to be the soul of the company: where he was, there was a charge of energy. Knowledge came easily to him. After the lyceum, he entered the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design, but later decided to see the world and went abroad. However, he quickly realized that he had to return to Ukraine and defend it. The choice was not spontaneous but conscious. In 2019, the guy signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. He participated in the Joint Forces Operation. Later, he decided to get a higher education and enrolled in the correspondence department of the Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, where he studied "Ecology." However, he managed to study only 2 courses before his death. In early 2022, Maksym went on a business trip to Nizhyn to recruit recruits for military service, so the full-scale invasion of the occupiers caught him in his hometown, where, with a Special Operations Forces unit, he conducted active counter-sabotage operations in the Chernihiv region. As soon as the opportunity arose, he immediately went to the front line to his comrades-in-arms. In September 2022, during the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, he took part in the liberation of such settlements as Kamyanka, Studenok, Serednie, Olhivka, and Hrekivka. From December 2022 to mid-summer 2023, together with the brigade, he carried out combat missions in the area of the Serebryansk Forest. In April 2023, he was appointed commander of the mortar platoon of the fire support company. On June 3, Maksym received a shrapnel wound. But in just 3 days, he asked to return to the firing positions, as he could not do nothing. In June 2023, Maksym's brigade was redeployed to the Kupiansk direction. During his service, the paratrooper repeatedly received awards, in particular, he was awarded the Medal "For Military Service in Ukraine," the Medal "For Special Service" of the III degree, the Honorary Badge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Golden Cross," the award "Cross of Honor," and the award of the commander of the operational-tactical group "Lyman." "The war took away a hero from Ukraine and the best person in the world from his relatives. The bright soul flew into the afterlife, and the number 24 will be forever etched on the granite stone. And now he will not give me flowers, but I will bestow him all my life," wrote the wife of the fallen Yana. The hero was buried on December 19, 2023, at the Myhailivskyi cemetery in the city of Nizhyn. Maksym is survived by his parents, brother, and wife.