Mykola M. Masin

Serviceman Mykola Masin was killed on March 4, 2023, in battle near the village of Bilohirivka in the Donetsk region. The warrior was 50 years old. Mykola was born in the village of Monastyrets, Lviv region. At the Zhydachiv Vocational and Technical School, he obtained the profession of tractor mechanic. He got married and raised three children. He lived with his family in the village of Dovhyi Voinylov in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Since 2018, he has been participating in the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas. During the full-scale war, the man went to the front again. He fought as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He went to Bakhmut in the ranks of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade. "In 2018, he went as a volunteer to the Joint Forces Operation and was there for almost 2 years. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he voluntarily went to war again. When he came home on leave, I saw emptiness in his eyes. He had experienced a lot during these months, changed several brigades due to losses. But he always wanted to go back, repeating: 'Who will I leave the guys to?' A few days after leaving, he called that he had an injury - 10 shrapnel. He was 2 months in rehabilitation, had the opportunity to stay home, but could not leave his men. The wounds were not yet healed when he left. He told everyone that he would not return, and the last words I heard from the father were: 'Chrystyna, I don't want to go.' In Kramatorsk, they wanted to send him to the hospital, as there were still a few shrapnel left, but dad refused, because young guys came who were to be sent to the front line. He said to the commander: 'Take me instead of them.' He felt excruciating pain, could not wear a bulletproof vest. After that, I did not see him again. And then we were informed of his death. He saved the lives of the guys, was killed for Ukraine and became a hero," said the deceased's daughter Chrystyna. The defender was buried in the village of Dovhyi Voinylov, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Mykola is survived by his mother, wife, three daughters, two sisters, and mother-in-law.