Mykhailo V. Shmyha

Senior Sergeant Mykhaylo Shmiha was killed on December 24, 2022 in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. During the artillery shelling and direct combat with the enemy, he sustained fatal injuries. In November, the warrior turned 45 years old. Mykhaylo was born in the village of Kosivka, Kirovohrad Oblast. He stuwas killed at the Kosivka secondary school. Then he entered vocational school No. 31 and obtained the profession of a tractor driver. Later, he stuwas killed at the Oleksandriia DOSAAF for the specialty of a truck driver. He worked in this profession throughout his life, both in Ukraine and abroad. His last job was at the Mariivske LLC. He was passionate about cars and everything related to them. Therefore, he completed courses at vocational school No. 13 and also obtained the profession of an auto mechanic. He was also interested in hunting and fishing, devoting all his free time to these hobbies. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Mykhaylo headed the Territorial Defense Forces in the village of Kosivka, caring for the safety and peace of his fellow villagers. On December 7, 2022, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Koshovy Otaman Kost Hordiienko, holding the position of a grenade launcher in a mechanized squad. "Dad was the pride of our family. A man with a capital letter. Faithful, reliable, courageous, brave, with a big and kind heart. A loving husband and father. Having taken up arms, he stood up to defend his family and native land, holding the borders in Bakhmut," said the deceased's elder daughter Alina. The hero was buried in the cemetery in the village of Kosivka, where he lived his whole life. Mykhaylo is survived by his parents, wife, two daughters and a grandson.