Mykola V. Kotiai (Zhuk)

Chief Sergeant Mykola Kotyay (call sign Zhuk) died on August 31, 2022, in a hospital from a severe injury he received the day before during an enemy mortar shelling in the area of the village of Mali Shcherbaky, Zaporizhzhia region. He was 48 years old. Mykola was from Rivne region. After school, he graduated from Lutsk Higher Professional School No. 2. He worked at a factory. He lived in the village of Maleve in Rivne region. During the full-scale war, the man defended Ukraine in the ranks of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He served in a mortar battery. "The first to always come to the rescue. Brave and resolute. Local champion. The memory of him will live not only in the hearts of all who knew him. But also in the works created by his golden hands. The greatest value for Mykola was his family. Such people had to rebuild Ukraine! Rest in peace! Rest in glory!", said Tetyana Ivanivna, a friend of the deceased. "Mykola was a cheerful, active person in public and sports events of the village, kind, sensitive, good family man and owner", wrote the head of Boremelska village council Viktor Korin. The serviceman was buried in the village of Maleve in Rivne region. At home, Mykola's mother, wife Oksana, and two daughters: Olexandra and Anastasia were waiting for him.