Serhii A. Zheltiakov (Pensiia)

Defender Serhii Zheltiakov (call sign Dean) died on April 28, 2022 near the village of Solodke in the Donetsk region. During the performance of a combat mission, he received injuries incompatible with life as a result of enemy missile and artillery shelling. The defender was 44 years old. Serhii was born in Ivano-Frankivsk. He lived with his family in Cherkasy. He received higher education at the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine named after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. He worked as a senior English language instructor at the Orshanets Training Center for Junior Specialists of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in Cherkasy. He has been defending the country since 2014. During the full-scale war, he served in the Kramatorsk Border Guard Unit of the Eastern Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. For his service, he had a number of awards, including the "Veteran of War" badge, the III degree medal "Independence of Ukraine", the honorary distinction "Mariupol Operational and Tactical Group", the honorary title "Defender of Ukraine - Hero of Cherkasy", the award of the President of Ukraine "For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation", the medals "Defender of the Fatherland", "For Participation in the ATO", and the State Border Guard Service badge "Veteran of Military Service". "The man was a very good person. Well-read and an interesting interlocutor, we had many conversations with him. He was fascinated by history, loved to photograph and film everything where we were. He loved to travel. A caring and loving husband and father," said his wife Natalia. The defender was buried in the 4th cemetery in Cherkasy. Serhii is survived by his wife and daughter. Posthumously, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and awarded the Order of Courage III degree and the honorary distinction "For Merits to the City".

Zheltakov Serhiy Anatoliyovych was born on May 13, 1977, in Ivano-Frankivsk in a military family. In 1994, he graduated from Khmelnytskyi Secondary School No. 2. In 1998, he graduated from the Academy of the State Border Service of Ukraine named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He was a participant in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). In 2014, while performing combat missions in Mariupol, he was injured. Since March 17, 2022, Serhiy Zheltakov, as part of a border unit, defended the territorial integrity of his homeland. During his combat missions, Lieutenant Colonel Serhiy Zheltakov proved to be a courageous and professional patriot. Serhiy Anatoliyovych, as part of the combined group of the rapid response border command "Novotroitske" of the 11th Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, participated in fierce battles against superior enemy forces in the area of the village of Solodke in the Mariinsky district of Donetsk region. On April 28, 2022, around 14:10, the army of the Russian Federation began artillery and mortar shelling of the positions of the combined group, which were established on the outskirts of the village of Solodke in Donetsk region. During one of these strikes, Serhiy Zheltakov sustained injuries that were incompatible with life. For personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for loyalty to the military oath, Lieutenant Colonel Serhiy Anatoliyovych Zheltakov was posthumously awarded the Order "For Courage" of the III degree.