Pavlo A. Yurchenko (Yurchyk)

Senior soldier Pavlo Yurchenko was killed on May 8, 2022 in Mariupol, Donetsk region. As a result of an air strike on the Azovstal plant, he received injuries incompatible with life. He was 55 years old. Pavlo was born in the village of Yuriivka in the Donetsk region. He graduated from Yalta School No. 2 and a vocational school in Mariupol. After the army, he worked as a driver in Dnipro. In 1995, he returned to his native village. He worked as a security guard. In 2017, he voluntarily signed a contract with the National Guard of Ukraine. He participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has been defending Mariupol. He was the senior driver of the 2nd vehicle platoon of the ammunition and fuel supply company. Pavlo's wife Natalia said that he made the decision to serve in the National Guard when he was working as a security guard. He quit his job and secretly signed a contract. He told her the day before he had to go to the unit. He defended Donetsk and Luhansk regions. When the full-scale invasion began, he wrote: "We're going to Marik." The next day, he insisted that she and their son urgently leave for Western Ukraine. He said the same to his brother's family. Until May, they corresponded. Pavlo usually said that everything was fine with him. He only occasionally said how it really was: that many people were dying during the evacuation due to constant shelling of the plant, that they were eating once a day and there was no bread. His last message was sent on the morning of May 8. He wrote to their son that there had been a strike and they were going to look for those who had been buried. And that's it. Until June, nothing was known about the husband, to whom I turned. Until I found the commander's contacts, and he told me that there was a second strike in that place. I still haven't received my husband's body. Now I see my Pasha only in dreams. He asks me to take care of our son, Natalia Yurchenko said. Pasha was a wonderful father and a good husband. He had golden hands. He built a house and everything in the yard. He took on things he had never done before. For example, he operated on our dog when he had an abscess, because there is no veterinarian in the village. He was kind and helpful. He always came to help. In his free time, he was fond of fishing and winemaking. He loved to travel. He dreamed of the Carpathians, wanted to hike in the mountains and forests. Pavlo is survived by his wife, son, mother and older brother. In 2019, the defender was awarded the "For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation" badge, and posthumously - the Order of Courage of the III degree.