Rostyslav R. Shuliaiev (Sokil)

Soldier Rostislav Shulyaev (call sign Sokil) was killed on June 13, 2023, in the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk region. After the night shift, the soldier was resting with his comrades-in-arms. At that time, heavy shelling began, causing a fire that was extinguished throughout the day. The bodies of the defenders could not be retrieved. Only ten days later was it confirmed that Rostislav had been killed. He was 25 years old. He was born in the city of Pyriatyn in the Poltava region, in a military family. He obtained the profession of a programmer at the National Technical University of Ukraine "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute". He started working during his studies - he was an instructor and a pyrotechnician at the "Extremal" club. He has been engaged in diving since childhood and had an international certificate. His last civilian job was at the Center for Medical and Environmental Research in Kharkiv, where Rostislav held the position of system administrator. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, together with his father, he was engaged in volunteer activities in Northern Saltivka. He was awarded a thank-you note from the Kharkiv mayor "To a volunteer with an active civic position" and a thank-you note from the organizing committee "Free Volunteers" "Year of Indomitability. The Face of Kharkiv". In November 2022, Rostislav voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At first, he held the position of a rifleman-medic, and after a severe concussion and back injury, he became an aerial reconnaissance operator of the 81st Airmobile Brigade. "I am proud of my son - he was a friend, a part of me, one heart for two. For all his relatives and friends, he was a support, a positive and bright person. His last words were: 'Don't pity me, just remember me. Alive, as long as they remember!'" - wrote his mother Elvira Shulyaeva. The defender was buried on June 29, 2023, in the village of Velyka Krucha in the Poltava region. Rostislav is survived by his parents, sister, and fiancée.