Ruslan V. Donets (Rulia)

40-year-old soldier Ruslan Donets was killed on May 6, 2022, near the city of Rubizhne in the Luhansk region. The defender received a fatal gunshot wound. Ruslan was born in the city of Novodnistrovsk in the Chernivtsi region. He graduated from the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management. He then worked for many years at the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Chernivtsi Oblast, holding the position of rescue officer. He lived in Chernivtsi, started a family, and was building plans for the future. In 2010, he ran for the Chernivtsi City Council. He was sociable, sincere, open, and always ready to help. With the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ruslan joined the ranks of the 122nd Separate Air Assault Battalion of the 81st Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He became a private and went to the front lines to fight against the Russian occupiers. “Life has scattered the graduates of 2000 in different directions. Since then, we have seen each other twice. And you remained just as you were in school: responsible, fair, goal-oriented, and always ready to lend a hand. We remember you very well with your class teacher as a decent, sincere, kind child. Active in all matters, always friendly and polite to everyone: friends, classmates, teachers. It was enough to say: ‘Ruly, we need it!'… Now you are a Warrior of the Heavenly Legion and will protect us from the sky, covering us with your wings…” wrote the class teacher of the defender, Valeriy Samus. The defender was buried in the Alley of Glory at the Central Cemetery in Chernivtsi. Ruslan was awaited at home by his wife and son.