Serhii M. Bondarenko

26-year-old military pilot Serhii Bondarenko was killed in action on March 6, 2022, between the villages of Mykhailivka and Arkhangelske in Mykolaiv Oblast. During the battle, the enemy shot down two Ukrainian helicopters with PZRK missiles, resulting in the death of six servicemen, including Serhii Bondarenko. Serhii Bondarenko was born in the village of Orativ, Vinnytsia Oblast. Later, his family moved to the city of Liptsi. There, Serhii stu at School No. 2. He played chess, was interested in history, military strategies, and shooting from various types of weapons. As he dreamed of becoming a military man, after the 9th grade, he entered the Odesa Lyceum with enhanced military-physical training, which he graduated with honors in 2012. Later, he entered the flight faculty of the Kharkiv National Air Force University named after Ivan Kozhedub. After graduation, he went to serve in Poltava, in the 18th Separate Brigade of Army Aviation named after Ivan Sikorsky. He was a captain, flight navigator, and helicopter pilot. He loved flying. He was devoted to his work. During the full-scale Russian invasion, Serhii defended the airspace of Kherson Oblast and did not allow the enemy to break through in the direction of Mykolaiv Oblast. "My little brother, my best friend, my support, my encouragement, the brightest piece of my heart — that's who he was and will always be for me. He loved his family very much. Every year, he took a vacation to come to my daughter Marichka's birthday — it was a family tradition. It seems to me that people like Serhii are born once in a hundred years. Always smiling and optimistic... A guy with an infinitely kind heart and a pure soul. He never left anyone in trouble. His death was a great shock and loss not only for the family but also for close friends. It is impossible to come to terms with this pain. The hardest thing is to understand that the war will end, but he will not return. Although we now lay flowers in the ground for him, for us, he is an immortal warrior who has forever frozen in the sky, in the ranks of the heavenly squadron...," Serhii's sister, Svitlana Dedova, shared. "He was honest, fair, sensible, smart. He always helped — whether it was a kitten under the entrance or friends, relatives, acquaintances. Our love story was cut short forever. Together for three years, wherever we were. There could have been a bright, beautiful continuation. I will always remember him, love him...," added the late Serhii's beloved Alina. The officer was buried at the Novohaisynske cemetery in Liptsi, Vinnytsia Oblast. Serhii left behind his parents, sister, niece, close relatives, beloved girlfriend, and loyal comrades. In March 2022, Captain Serhii Bondarenko was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III and II degrees. The second, unfortunately, posthumously.