Mykola O. Karas (Karas Yusha)

Head Sergeant Mykola Karas (call sign Karas) was killed on the night of July 29, 2022 in Olenivka, Donetsk region, when the Russian army blew up a barracks with Ukrainian prisoners of war. As a result of the explosion, the building in which the occupiers held the Ukrainian prisoners of war evacuated from the Azovstal territory in Mariupol was destroyed. Mykola was 36 years old. He was born in the village of Korobky, Kherson region. He grew up in an ordinary family: his mother was a milkmaid and his father was a tractor driver. Mykola graduated from a vocational school, obtained the qualification of a driver-mechanic. He worked as a driver and loved the road. In 2016, he joined the Azov Regiment. He held the position of an instructor in driving the infantry section of the training and combat platoon of the personnel training battalion. "My brother was kind, sincere, with a good sense of humor. It was never sad with him. He was the kindest guy I knew," his sister Nadia said. The defender was buried in the village of Svyatopetrivske near Kyiv. He is survived by his mother, sister and older brother. Mykola's younger brother, Yevhen (call sign Takho), was also in the Azov Regiment. He was killed on March 7, 2022 in the battles for the city of Mariupol.