Mykola M. Mahula (Diadia Kolia)

Soldier Mykola Mahula (call sign Diadia Kolya) was killed on February 27, 2023, defending the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region from the occupiers. He sustained fatal injuries as a result of a direct hit by an enemy mine. In January, the warrior turned 42 years old. Mykola was born in the village of Dubove in the Zakarpattia region. At the age of 9, he moved with his parents to the village of Kryvky in the Poltava region. He studied at the Pokrovska school. Then he served his military service. When he returned, he got married. Later, the couple raised children. Mykola dreamed that they would graduate from universities, as he and his wife did not have the opportunity to study. His passion was volleyball, which he loved since his school years and played whenever he had the chance. He worked as a construction worker in Ukraine and abroad, building houses and doing repairs in them. During the full-scale war, the man was mobilized into the airborne assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 77th separate airmobile brigade, holding the position of a rifleman - a member of the crew. "He did not have a military profession, he was an ordinary man with golden hands. He did not dream of taking up arms, but went to defend his land, his family. He was not afraid, he did not sit out abroad, so he is a Hero whom everyone should remember," said the fallen defender's daughter Anna. The paratrooper was buried in the village of Pokrovske in the Poltava region. Mykola is survived by his wife Aliona, son Dmytro, daughters Anna and Marharyta, parents, relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms.