Ruslan O. Novitskyi

Spotter Ruslan Novitsky (call sign Rusya) died on July 14, 2024, while performing a combat mission as a result of an enemy FPV drone strike near the village of Yevgenivka in the Donetsk region. The defender was 34 years old. The fighter was born in the village of Yaropovychi in the Zhytomyr region. He graduated from the Yaropovets Lyceum named after Vitaliy Hulyaev. He was engaged in household activities. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing. From the first days of the full-scale war, he defended the Motherland as part of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade "Magura". He was a senior driver of the 1st reconnaissance platoon of the 2nd mechanized battalion. Recently, he was the gunner of the M2 "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle. "Ruslan joined the ranks of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade as a volunteer in April 2022. He went through and saw a lot. Exhausted, tired, but unbroken. He survived where one comrade after another perished. Then they had a slogan - to make it so that the war was not felt in the rear. They overdid it, because now the war is felt only by the families of the military. He is one of the thousands of unknown Heroes of Ukraine who defended its integrity and independence with their last strength. Ruslan managed to undergo training in Germany. He took part in battles in the Zaporizhia direction and the Avdiivka coke plant. He met his fiancée in the Donetsk region, where they lived together throughout his service in the Donbas. Ruslan dreamed of a family and the birth of a daughter. He dreamed of introducing his fiancée to his relatives, but did not have time. The family accepted Ruslan's fiancée as their own, they became one family awaiting the birth of the first daughter, niece and granddaughter. But with an unbearable wound of loss in their hearts, which will hurt for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, Ruslan will never see the daughter he dreamed of. Unfortunately, the daughter will grow up without a father, but we will definitely keep his memory and the child will definitely know that her father is a Hero," the deceased's relatives said. The defender was buried in his native village. Ruslan is survived by his mother, four brothers, a son from his first marriage, and a fiancée who was pregnant at the time of his death.