Mykola V. Petrenko

32-year-old paratrooper Mykola Petrenko (call sign Kolanchyk) died on January 16, 2023 near the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region. At dawn, he set out with his comrades-in-arms on a combat mission, but their location was discovered by the occupiers. An enemy drone was adjusting fire on their position. After the arrival of the strike, a comrade was buried in the ground, and Mykola quickly began to dig him out. When the occupiers saw movement in the dugout, they fired a second time. This arrival proved to be fatal. The comrade he rushed to save survived, but suffered a spinal fracture. Mykola was from the city of Korosten in the Zhytomyr region. He graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports of the Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko. He served in the military. Later, he taught children at the Korosten Children and Youth Sports School, was a volleyball coach at the Educational and Upbringing Complex No. 12. Later, he changed his profession - he worked as a sales agent. In April 2022, the man joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a gunner in the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. He fought in the Kharkiv direction, liberated Dovhenke, Izyum, Svyatohirsk from the Russian occupiers. Then he went to the Luhansk region. "Mykola was an absolutely peaceful person: above all, he loved his family, made plans for the future. However, the usual life changed on February 24, 2022. Already 1.5 months after the start of the war, he received a summons from the military registration and enlistment office. He did not ignore it, did not hide from the army, although he could have done so, because at that time he was in another region. Just a few days later, on April 7, he was at the training ground of the famous 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on April 19 - in the front-line Slovyansk, and on April 21 - at the forefront," his aunt Svitlana Petrenko said. Mykola was buried in the Alley of Glory of the cemetery in his hometown. He is survived by his parents, wife, son, relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms. Posthumously, Junior Sergeant Mykola Petrenko was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.