Maksym P. Tokarev (Nasim)

Marine Maxim Tokarev was killed on October 23, 2022, near the village of Opytne in the Donetsk region. While performing a combat mission, the soldier triggered an explosive device and sustained fatal mine-explosive injuries. The defender was 26 years old. Maxim was born and lived in Kyiv. He studied at Gymnasium No. 178. He then graduated from the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. He was an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity. He was interested in politics. In 2017, he completed assistant to people's deputy courses and interned as an assistant-consultant to a deputy of the Kyiv City Council. Later, he joined the Municipal Guard of the Solomianskyi District. He wanted to fight corruption. Since 2019, he worked in a construction company. In 2020, the young man signed a contract with the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said, “How can a politician be respected in the future if he did not go through this path during the war?” From the first day of the full-scale war, Maxim, as part of the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion, was on the front lines in Donetsk. He was a combat vehicle commander. He escaped encirclement twice. In June 2022, he sustained a gunshot shrapnel wound. After treatment, he returned to his comrades at the front. On the night of August 24, in honor of Independence Day, he and a friend entered the temporarily occupied territory and raised the flag of the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion. “Maxim was a very determined person, he knew what he wanted from life. He knew how to live life to the fullest, to cherish every moment. He wanted a big family and many sons. He was very smart and wise. I knew he would be the best father. He could always support, take all the responsibility on himself. He cared for everyone around him, never stood aside when someone asked for help. I will never forget his kind, beautiful blue eyes and the love we had. He is forever in my heart,” said the fiancée of the fallen soldier. The soldier was buried at the Lukyanivske Cemetery in his native Kyiv. Maxim is survived by his parents, sister, and fiancée. Posthumously, Junior Sergeant Maxim Tokarev was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.