Serhii I. Melnyk (Did)

Senior soldier Serhii Melnyk (call sign Grandfather) was killed on October 7, 2022 while carrying out a combat mission near the settlement of Bilohirivka in the Luhansk region. The defender was 42 years old. Serhii was from the Vinnytsia region. He lived in Vinnytsia. He graduated from Vinnytsia Higher Vocational School No. 2, where he obtained the profession of a locksmith. He was passionate about cooking. In 2014-2015, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. Since 2017, he has served under contract in the National Guard of Ukraine. There he already treated his comrades-in-arms with his dishes. At the time of the full-scale war, the man served in the 14th Operational Purpose Brigade named after Ivan Bohun. He held the position of rifleman-assistant grenadier. From the first days of the invasion, he, together with his comrades-in-arms, defended Ukraine from the Russian invaders. In August 2022, the soldier was awarded the Order of Courage of the III degree. "Serhii has been in this damned war since 2014. He gave his life for us. He was very kind, he wanted to help everyone. He always joked, even in difficult conditions. Comrades-in-arms remember him only with kind words. He always cared for everyone. I really want to preserve his memory," his sister Snizhana Skyba said. The National Guard soldier was buried in the Alley of Glory of the Sabarivske cemetery in Vinnytsia. Serhii is survived by his mother, sister, other relatives and comrades-in-arms.