Mykhailo V. Stupak

Lieutenant Mykhailo Stupak was killed on April 12, 2022, during the defense of Mariupol in the Donetsk region. The defender was forever 26 years old. Mykhailo was born in the village of Romanova Balka, Mykolaiv region. After school, he studied at the Pervomaisk Professional College. Then he graduated from the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv, and at the same time - the military department of the V. Sukhomlynsky Mykolaiv National University. He worked at the Dnipropetrovsk production association "Mayak". However, he dreamed of becoming a specialist in computer science and information technology, to find a good job to help his parents raise three younger brothers. On February 25, 2022, the man joined the ranks of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky. He was the deputy commander of the company. "Mykhailo was a simple good guy who unhesitatingly stood up to defend his native country. As part of the 36th Brigade, he was transferred to the East, where the fiercest battles were raging. First - Volnovakha, an important railway hub, and then - Mariupol. He last made contact with his relatives on March 5, 2022. After a long year of endless hopes and continuous appeals to all possible instances to search for the son, the parents were able to return Mykhailo's body to his native village and pay the last tribute to the Hero," said Larysa Ponomarenko, a teacher at the Romanova Balka Lyceum. "He lived brightly and quickly... He died, being faithful to the military oath with honor and fulfilling his patriotic duty to the end, giving the most valuable thing for Ukraine - his own life," they noted at the Pervomaisk College. The officer was buried in his native village. Mykhailo is survived by his father Viktor Andriiovych, mother Tamara Fedorivna, brothers Pavlo, Vlad, Stas and Vadym.