Oleksii V. Nakopiuk (Zhovten)

Lieutenant Oleksiy Nakopyuk was killed on August 26, 2022, in the Marinka area of Donetsk region. While carrying out a combat mission, he went missing during a tank shelling of the positions. Due to intense combat operations, the search for the serviceman was impossible. Only almost a year later, Oleksiy's body could be returned from the occupied territory and buried. Oleksiy was born in Talny, Cherkasy region. He lived in Kyiv. In 2003, he entered the National Transport University. After 5 years, he received a bachelor's degree with honors in mechanical engineering, and a year later, in 2008, he received a master's degree. He completed the military department at the university and received the rank of junior lieutenant in reserve. From 2010, he worked as a chief specialist in the financial and economic department of the financial management of the Main State Automobile Inspection. After a year, he became the head of the department. In 2012, due to the liquidation of the Main State Inspection for Road Transport, he was transferred to the position of deputy head of the accounting, reporting and calculation department - deputy chief accountant of the newly created State Inspection of Ukraine for Safety on Ground Transport (Ukrtransinspektsiya). In 2016, he took the position of head of the financial department of the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety (Ukrtransbezpeka). On March 19, 2022, the man joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served in the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Mstislav the Brave. He held the position of commander of the evacuation platoon of the repair and recovery battalion. "Oleksiy was always principled, fair, respected his colleagues, and comrades-in-arms. He was also respected, and his opinions were listened to. Oleksiy voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and it was impossible to stop him in any way: 'This is my duty, I must protect the country so that our children grow up in a peaceful Ukraine without occupiers,'" the officer's wife said. The hero was buried on August 20, 2023, in his hometown. The defender left behind his parents Mariya Mykolaivna and Vitaliy Ivanovych, his wife Anastasia, daughter Viktoria, and brothers Oleh and Serhiy. In memory of Oleksiy, a memorial plaque was opened on the house in Kyiv where he lived.