Maksym O. Shovenko (Prepper)

Junior Lieutenant Maksym Shovenko (call sign Prepper) was killed on July 8, 2023 in a battle with the occupiers near the settlement of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region. Leading a assault group, the officer accomplished an important combat mission to capture an enemy outpost, but the explosion of an enemy shell cut short his life. The defender was forever 26 years old. Maksym was born in the city of Oleshky, Kherson region. He graduated from the Kherson State Agrarian and Economic University. He served conscription in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was passionate about diving, fishing, weapons, and metal detecting. He loved history. The man planned a peaceful life, but could not stand aside from defending the Motherland. Therefore, in 2021, he signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as part of the 140th separate reconnaissance battalion of the marine corps. He underwent special training as a marine. He met the full-scale invasion in the area of the Joint Forces Operation in the Luhansk region and from the first minutes of the war took an active part in the fighting. While performing tasks, during which he received a concussion and wounds, Maksym went through the combat path from Novoaidar to Bakhmut. In January 2023, as one of the best and most trained warriors, he was sent for training to the Military Academy in Odesa. He completed the training course, received the officer rank and was appointed as the platoon commander in the newly formed 37th separate marine brigade of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since May, he has been performing tasks in the combat zone again. In June, his brigade took part in offensive operations on the Vremiyivskyi ledge. According to his comrades-in-arms, Maksym was a true warrior: brave and experienced, a faithful comrade, a caring commander. He was ready at any moment to carry out an order and share the last with his comrades. "Our son is our universe! He was the meaning of our life. The best son, a brave warrior, smart and confident. He had many friends, he was going to get married in the fall... He always had his own opinion, never hid and was in the front ranks. He is a person who believed in a free Ukraine and fought for it," said the officer's mother, Alla Ivanivna. Maksym was buried in the Alley of Glory of the cemetery in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region. At home, the warrior was awaited by his parents, relatives, beloved and friends.