Mykhailo S. Nahornyi (Potap)

Sergeant Mykhailo Nahornyi (call sign Potap) was killed on May 30, 2022, while performing his duties on the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway as a result of a missile attack by the enemy. The fighter was 39 years old. Mykhailo was born in the village of Kyryivka, Zhytomyr region. He studied at a rural school. Then he graduated from the Zhytomyr Agrotechnical Vocational College. He served in the military. Later, after returning home, he moved to Kyiv, where he worked as a repair master. He was passionate about fishing and hunting. He participated in fishing competitions, where he repeatedly won prizes. During the full-scale war, the man joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mykhailo served in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians. He held the position of a medical company driver. "Our family still cannot believe that Misha is no longer with us, and will never believe it. It is impossible to believe. Everyone remembers him as an incredibly kind and sincere person. Friends and acquaintances called him the soul of the company, because where Misha was, it was never sad. He was always a leader, persistent, valued friendship and never refused to help. He was a support for all of us. He went to the front from the beginning of the full-scale invasion. At the request of his mother to wait for the birth of his firstborn, he said: 'Mom, this is war, who will go if not me?! Who will protect you and my child?'" - said the deceased's niece Natalia Borysovych. Initially, Mykhailo was buried in the cemetery in Dnipro as an unknown soldier. After a DNA examination a year after his death, on June 11, 2023, he was reburied in his native village of Kyryivka. At home, the defender was awaited by his mother, civil wife, daughter born 3 months after his death, sister and nephews.