Ruslan A. Saakian (Sokrat)

Soldier Ruslan Saakyan (call sign Socrates) was killed on March 9, 2023, in battle for the city of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. The fighter received fatal injuries during an enemy tank shelling. In April, the defender would have turned 33 years old. Ruslan was born in the village of Voroyntsi, Poltava region. He lived in the village of Lazirky. He graduated from the Kyiv Higher Lyceum of Woodworking and obtained the profession of a carpenter and woodcarver. He worked as a grain processing operator at Kononivsky Elevator LLC. In his free time, he engaged in underwater fishing and made wooden products. He loved to gather friends and have fun, valuing each of them. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the man joined the volunteer formation of the territorial defense and participated in the defense of the Poltava region. After 7 months, he was mobilized for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After training, he took the position of a driver-radio operator in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians and went to the front line. "Ruslan was a very good person, always stood up to the end for justice. For us, he was just the perfect man and dad," said the wife of the deceased. "Rusik is a man of his word, always had his own opinion and defended it. Brave, courageous, strong, unbreakable and strong in spirit. A hero who gave his life for our peaceful sky. I want everyone to know and remember him! For us, this is a great loss and pain," added the family friend Yaroslava Holota. The defender was buried in the village of Lazirky, Poltava region. Ruslan Saakyan is survived by his wife Yulia, daughters Milana and Dayana, other relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms. Ruslan Saakyan was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree.