Maksym Ye. Shushpanov (Yuryst)

Senior Lieutenant Maksym Shushpanov (call sign Lawyer) was killed on September 12, 2023 near the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. He commanded the assault that his company carried out towards the enemy's positions. He personally checked the situation, adjusting actions and encouraging the personnel. During one of these sorties, while distracting the enemy's fire from the personnel, he came under mortar fire. Severe injuries did not allow him to be transported alive to the stabilization point. Maksym was born in Kyiv. He graduated from the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University. He was an IT specialist. He worked as the deputy head of the information and technical support department of the Second Administrative Court of Appeal. During the full-scale war, the man joined the ranks of the 71st Separate Jaeger Brigade of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He held the position of deputy company commander. The call sign was given to him by the battalion commander. Learning that Maksym had worked in the court, without even figuring out who he was, he said: "In the court? So, Lawyer." "Maksym was strong-willed, strong-spirited, responsible, but at the same time kind and sensitive. Despite the fact that he had a reservation, he made a well-considered decision to defend Ukraine. He was born into a family of a Russian and a Tatar who moved to work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from the Saratov region, but considered himself Ukrainian, which he proved not only with his life, but also with his death, defending the sovereignty and independence of the country where he was born and lived until his last breath. Maksym's parents and brother passed away before the start of the full-scale invasion. Despite the loss of his loved ones, Maks remained a life-lover and a kind friend, colleague, good father, caring husband, fair commander, a true officer. He had a good reputation and respect among his comrades-in-arms. He proved himself well during his service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and during the performance of combat missions. He was distinguished by courage and complete self-sacrifice, showed himself to be professionally trained, and responsibly approached the fulfillment of orders. Without sparing his own life and health, he showed that tasks must be carried out even in the most difficult situations. With his strong-willed and decisive actions for the Motherland and the preservation of the lives of his comrades-in-arms, he displayed his best traits and qualities: steadfastness and determination in conditions associated with the risk to life, a high level of personal training, the ability to make timely and correct decisions," his wife Viktoria said. The officer was buried in the Alley of Glory of cemetery No. 18 in Kharkiv. Maksym is survived by his wife and daughter.