Ruslan V. Shtanko (Dok)

Sergeant Ruslan Shtanko (call sign Doc) was killed on September 10, 2023 near the village of Novoprokopivka in the Zaporizhia region. While rescuing a comrade, he sustained fatal injuries during enemy artillery shelling. The warrior was forever 30 years old. Ruslan was from the village of Chervona Sloboda in the Sumy region. He finished rural school and was involved in music. He served his mandatory military service. He then studied at the S.V. Rudnev Putyvl Pedagogical College and obtained a degree as a physical education teacher. He was passionate about cooking and loved to cook. Before the war, he worked as a baker in one of the supermarkets in Kyiv. When the full-scale war began, the man received a summons and went to the army. He underwent training and took the position of senior combat medic in the 46th separate air assault brigade. Together with his comrades, he participated in the defense of Soledar in the Donetsk region. At the beginning of 2023, he was wounded, and after treatment and rehabilitation, he returned to the frontline. "For our family, this is a terrible loss, as it is for other families who lose their sons and daughters every day. We are proud of our Hero, his resilience, and patriotism," wrote the deceased's sister Yulia Lamtiova. The military man was buried in his native village. Ruslan is survived by his father, brother, and two sisters.